Sean McLaughlin

Chair of Board, Development Committee and Remuneration and Nominations Member

Appointed to the Board in 2023

Sean, an independent consultant, was formerly Managing Director at Homes for Haringey and Corporate Director of Housing & Adult Services at Islington Council.

Sean brings extensive experience of strategy, front line service delivery and governance.  He is currently aslo Chair of New River College, Islington and Barsbury Housing Association.

His roots are in Donegal.

Ciara Chivers

Board Member, Chair of Remuneration and Nominations and Audit and Risk Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2018

Ciara is a genealogist who helps people to discover their family history.  She specialises in research involving Ireland and the Irish diaspora.  She has previously worked at the Cabinet Office, where she supported transformation inititiatives to make government work better and maximise the resources available to deliver high-quality public services. She started her career in corporate finance at a leading global investment bank, working on financing deals and takeovers.

Nick Yandle

Board Member and Audit and Risk Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2019

Nick is Joint Head of Strategy, Planning & Change at HM Treasury, leading the department’s work on corporate strategy, performance and risk management. He joined the civil service in 2019 and previously spent three years at the Infrastructure & Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office, leading change programmes to improve UK infrastructure delivery.

He previously worked at the National Housing Federation as both Policy Officer and Policy Leader, with responsibility for rent policy, asset management, regeneration and building safety.  He first joined the social housing sector as a graduate in 2012, training with Sanctuary Group before setting up their public affairs function and eventually becoming Legal Services Manager. His skills include policy, strategy, leadership and risk management.

Brian Brady

Board Member, Chair of the Development Committee and Remuneration and Nominations Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2019

Brian is Managing Director at Eco World International Ltd. He has extensive residential development experience for leading national housebuilders and developers including Taylor Woodrow and Willmott Dixon.

Brian moved from Ireland in 1986 part of the economic migration in the mid 80s.

Gerry Doherty

Board Member and Audit and Risk Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2021

Gerry is a qualified surveyor and has over 25 years experience working in social housing at all levels having previously been Chief Executive of Brent Housing Partnership .

He is currently Executive Director for Operations in London and Hertfordshire at Sovereign Network Group SNG, and he leads the housing management services in this region. Prior to his appointment at SNG he was Executive Director of Customer Services at Network Homes, having joined the organisation in March 2014.

John Fitzsimons

Board Member and Development and Remuneration and Nominations Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2021

John works as a barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. He specialises in public law with a particular focus on planning & environment, social housing, data protection and social care. As a result of his areas of practice, John has extensive experience of the challenges faced by the social housing sector.

He regularly advises and represents housing associations and their tenants in legal proceedings.

Jahanara Rajkoomar

Board Member and Development Committee Member

Appointed to the Board in 2022

Jahanara is the Director of Customer Services at Gateway Housing Association, with responsibility for all housing services, asset management and resident engagement.  She was previously Director of Community Investment and Customer Voice at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing.

Making a difference to people who are socially disadvantaged or excluded is her primary motivator and has defined her career to date. This remains a huge passion; trying to make a difference to people in a way that is meaningful to them. She brought this commitment into the housing sector over 14 years in a variety of roles and has used her experience and knowledge to influence how housing can play a role in enabling customers to be better tenants and take control of their lives.

In response to the changes taking place at the macro level in the socio-economic environment over the last 20 years, Jahanara has become a more commercially aware leader who is able to lead teams/programmes and develop creative responses to organisational challenges that are highly effective and demonstrably deliver value for money.

Ali-Jarar Hussain Shah FCCA

Board member & Chair of Audit and Risk Committee

Appointed to the Board in 2022

Ali is a qualified accountant and has significant financial experience in the social housing sector developed during his auditing career with a big four accountancy firm and a role with the Regulator.

He now works as the Director of Finance at Teachers’ Housing Association and is responsible for a range of key disciplines within the Organisation including Finance, IT and HR. 

John Weir

Board Member

Appointed to the Board in 2024

John is Head of Real Estate for the Church Commissioners for England. He is responsible for the Commissioners’ real assets portfolio within the overall endowment. He leads on the fund management of £2.5 billion of real assets across a diverse directly and indirectly held asset base in the UK and overseas. He joined the Commissioners in 2012 and was previously Head of Strategic Land Investment.

John is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and Town Planner with particular experience in planning and development linked to housing development. Prior to working for the Commissioners, John worked for Deloitte in Manchester and Leeds and for Knight Frank in London and Madrid, where he trained. Originally from Lisburn, Co Antrim, John has lived and worked in England since 1994.

Rebecca O'Donnell

Board Member

Appointed to the Board in 2024

Rebecca is a Senior Investment Appraisal Manager in Places for London, the TfL property company. A chartered accountant and a fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers, she brings to the Board extensive experience in the specialisms of; investment, treasury, audit and financial risk management. She is also a long-standing Trustee Director of TfL’s Pension Fund.

Originally hailing from Co. Donegal, Rebecca finds herself resolute and committed to serving London communities.

Aisling Conboy

Board Member

Appointed to the Board in 2024

Aisling is a Senior Programme Director at Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office which brings together experts and policy makers to address complex global challenges. Previously a consultant on international education policy and partnerships, Aisling was the first ever Higher Education Specialist in the UK Department for International Trade (now the Department for Business and Trade) for almost five years until 2021. Prior to this, she was International Partnerships Director at the University of Greenwich and developed global programmes and partnerships at Strathclyde Business School, the John Smith Trust and the US-UK Fulbright Commission. Aisling has initiated and set up several new global student mobility schemes so that studying abroad is more accessible and inclusive, irrespective of students’ backgrounds.

She studied Politics and History at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and spent an undergraduate exchange year at Penn State University in the USA and received her MA degree in History from Central Michigan University, USA. She has also taught US and Michigan History to undergraduate students as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Aisling is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), a member of Chevening reading panels and is a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner.