Kevin Hartnett

Chair of Board, Development Committee and Remuneration and Nominations Member

Appointed to the Board in 2016

Kevin has over 40 years experience in housing, design and construction, having worked for several local authorities and housing associations as well as spells in the private sector. This ranged from large scale inner city regeneration projects through to small rural schemes.

He spent almost twenty years working at Director level, specialising in high quality design and environmental innovation. He has spoken at many national and international conferences and is a former external examiner for housing degree courses.

Ciara Chivers

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

Appointed to the Board in 2018

Ciara is currently undertaking a postgraduate degree while on a career break from the Cabinet Office, where she supported transformation programmes across the public sector to make government work better and maximise the resources available to deliver high-quality services to the public.

She started her career in corporate finance at a leading global investment bank, originating and executing takeover and financing transactions for corporate and private equity clients across a range of countries and sectors.

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 of Customer Services at Network Homes which owns approximately 20,000 properties and is based in Wembley.

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 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 Community Investment and Customer Voice at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing with a record of delivering strategic and innovative social solutions that positively benefit the business and its customers.

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.