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Landlord targets increased focus on diversity with new board appointments
An East Midlands landlord has appointed three new board members and a vice-chair, as it looks to boost its focus on diversity.
Northamptonshire-based Greatwell Homes announced that Gurmeet Virdi will be the new vice-chair and lead on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues.
Mr Virdi, who has been on the 5,000-home landlord’s board since 2021, said he was “looking forward to taking on these new roles to further support the board in steering the organisation to providing great communities where people live well”.
He added: “I’m committed to keeping EDI high on the agenda and holding the board and executive team to account in relation to equality and diversity within the organisation.”
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Alongside Mr Virdi’s new role, Greatwell announced that Maana Ruia, Andrew Dale and Nabeel Irshad joined the board this month.
Ms Ruia is a finance professional with 25 years’ experience in capital markets and investments. She specialises in environmental sustainability and has extensive experience working in regulated sectors.
Mr Dale has 12 years’ experience in the housing sector, specifically in IT management and data. He is the deputy director of digital, data and change at Newport City Homes, and was previously the director of IT at West Midlands landlord Housing Plus Group.
Mr Irshad has extensive experience within the banking industry and is currently the vice-president for business development at Mastercard, leading the firm’s government and public sector business.
Mr Virdi said: “I want to welcome Maana, Andrew and Nabeel to the board, where I’m sure they will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to help support Greatwell Homes in achieving our remaining [2022-25] corporate plan objectives, and into the next phase beyond 2025.”
Greatwell said it had attracted more than 100 applications for the board positions that Ms Ruia, Mr Dale and Mr Irshad have filled.
“It was pleasing to have such a high interest in the recruitment process and to see many different experiences and diversities being represented among applicants,” said Mr Virdi.
“As a board, we aspire to have a balance among our membership that is representative of the communities where we work.”
Greatwell said the 40% of its board members who are from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds compares favourably with the national average of 18%, identified by the National Housing Federation’s 2023 EDI Data Tool.
Welcoming the new board members, Jo Savage, chief executive of Greatwell, said: “We aim to be an inclusive place to work that promotes diversity [and] for me, it’s important this starts with our board and leadership team.
“While diversity in ethnicity, background and gender is extremely important when recruiting to our board, we’ve also considered diversity in skill sets, experience and expertise.
“This diverse combination will ensure members shape and inform the valuable decision-making and discussions that take place at board level.”
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