London landlord appoints Livv boss to chair new regulatory compliance sub-committee
A major London landlord has appointed the chief executive of Livv Housing Group to chair a new regulatory compliance sub-committee.
Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) has recruited Léann Hearne to its group board as a non-executive director.
Ms Hearne has been described as “an experienced non-executive director with a track record of building high-performance customer service cultures and implementing best-in-class governance and regulatory compliance”.
She is also vice-chair of Yorkshire Housing.
NHG has praised Ms Hearne for overseeing Livv’s return to a compliant G1/V1 rating, and for “supporting three other chief executives as they have progressed from G3 to G1”.
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Her appointment comes after NHG was downgraded to G3 by the English regulator in November, and handed a C3 rating for consumer standards following “serious failings”.
Following the judgement, NHG explained that it was already working with the Regulator of Social Housing “to deliver the necessary improvements and are making key appointments, as well as working with external advisors, to help address the issues identified in this regulatory judgement”.
In her new role, Ms Hearne will chair a new sub-committee of the group board, with responsibility for monitoring the delivery of the landlord’s regulatory compliance plan, which NHG hopes to have in place by the end of March 2025.
She said: “I started working in housing associations because their purpose is so compelling – the values and people really matter to me.
“I’ve been in the sector for 17 years and remain driven to do the best of customers and communities. I see those values in Notting Hill Genesis and its leadership team and look forward to supporting the board in its regulatory action plan.
“I know from first-hand experience what it takes to bring a housing association back to compliance and am absolutely confident we have the expertise and leadership in place to do so.”
In addition to her housing association roles, Ms Hearne is chair of the Liverpool City Region Housing Association Partnership, strategic lead for the Knowsley Better Together Partnership and a board member at the Northern Housing Consortium.
Ian Ellis, group board chair at NHG, said: “I am delighted to welcome Léann to the board. Léann has a wealth of experience of regulatory compliance and strategic leadership within the social housing sector, and further complements the existing skills and experience of our board. In a field of strong candidates, Léann’s customer focus stood out and fits well with our strategic mission of working better together for our residents.”
Patrick Franco, chief executive of NHG, said: “The regulatory judgement acknowledged that we had already introduced changes across the organisation to drive improvement in the longer term and had started to see progress.
“I am confident that Léann’s leadership of our new compliance sub-committee will provide constructive challenge and guidance to ensure we maintain momentum in our ongoing drive to become a more resident-focused organisation.”
The landlord made three appointments in November to newly created roles that it believes are vital to driving its transformation strategy.
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