Chair

Hattie was the driving force behind the merger between Colne Housing – where she was Chair – and Greenfields Community Housing to create Eastlight Community Homes in July 2020.

Her vision for what we could achieve together, as a larger organisation for the East of England, is what helped us to become the trailblazing community gateway organisation we are today.

Eastlight is not the only housing provider in the East to benefit from Hattie’s strategic governance expertise – she works with organisations across the region in her role as Chair of the East of England Chairs Group.

Awarded an OBE for her services to homeless people in 2004, Hattie’s career began in housing and homelessness, but it has since spanned health, compliance, and financial services across the public, private and third sectors.

Hattie is also Chair of The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and was previously Chair of the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and PA Housing.

Board Member (Senior Independent Director)

Simon is a chartered accountant who enjoyed a successful 30-year career with Grant Thornton UK LLP.

He is committed to organisations with clear purpose and strong values, like Eastlight, and also brings expertise in audit, governance and assurance. He is the Chair of our Finance & Treasury Committee (F&T), a member of the Audit & Risk Committee (A&R) and Senior Independent Director.

As Senior Independent Director, Simon serves as a sounding board for the Chair and acts as an intermediary for other directors.

His last roles were as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the £500 million professional services partnership, covering audit, tax and advisory services.

Board Member (Member Responsible for Complaints)

Alongside her role as a Board Member, Catherine is Chair of our Customer Influence Committee. Catherine helps to ensure Eastlight continues to drive learning and service improvements for residents.

Catherine enjoys being in a group working towards a common goal for the community. She believes we can learn from people of different ages and experience to make our efforts stronger.

She has specific expertise in access and equality. She has advised Colchester and Ipswich museums on accessibility, and has been a web accessibility consultant and an Assistive Technology trainer.

Catherine is also a member of our Development & Asset Management Committee. 

Board Member

David has strong skills in governance, alongside firm values and a strong commitment to social development. He is passionate about ensuring our homes are sustainable, affordable and good places to live, now and in the future.

He is member of our Governance & People Committee (G&PC) and Audit and Risk Committee (ARC). He is also a Board Member at Tower Hamlets Community Housing in the East End of London and Chair of its Audit and Risk Committee.

Following a distinguished Royal Navy career, David was Chief Executive of the charity The Harpur Trust from 2002-2019, before joining the Board of Greenfields in 2019 and later Eastlight in 2021.

Board Member

Housing consultant Kay has held a number of senior positions in housing associations and with the former regulator the Housing Corporation. 

Kay is highly motivated by Eastlight’s commitment to our residents, communities and its ambitions to be a leading housing association in the East of England. She is the Chair of our Governance & People Committee (G&P) and a member of the Development & Asset Management Committee.

Kay has been an interim Chief Executive for a considerable number of organisations and has extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director and change programmes.

Board Member

Cha is a corporate finance specialist and has held Non-Executive and consultancy roles in a variety of housing associations, healthcare, social and commercial organisations.

She has worked in the commercial sector with expertise in finance, growth, change management, risk and treasury. She is Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) and a member of the Finance & Treasury Committee.

Cha has been involved in a large number of mergers, acquisitions and financings and has garnered a lot of cross sector expertise.

Board Member

Mike has worked in the housing sector for 35 years.

He brings experience of building homes, regeneration, asset management and setting up strategic joint ventures.  

He is a member of the sector’s G15 Development Directors Group.

Mike is a member of our Development & Asset Management Committee and Finance & Treasury Committee.

Board Member

Gail is a highly experienced director with a professional background in human resources and organisational development with extensive general and project management experience working in the UK and abroad.

Gail has worked both as an executive director and as a non-executive director and has led and contributed to significant transformational change in the public, private and not for profit sectors – including housing.

She is a member of our Audit & Risk and Governance & People Committees.

Board Member

Chris has been a Non-Executive Director for over 25 years, holding positions including Chair, Board Member and Committee Member.

He has an extensive background in Development and Asset Management. Also, Audit and Risk Committee Roles and Chair of Customer Services.

In addition, Chris has been directly involved in two separate registered provider mergers.

Trainee Board member

Steve has worked in physical activity and health for more than 30 years. He currently works for Fusion Lifestyle, a leisure contractor operating over 30 sites in the UK.

Steve is the company's Sports and Community Development Manager for Essex, covering their three local authority areas. He works with stakeholders to ensure there are inclusive physical activity opportunities for communities.

Steve is also a member of our Customer Influence Committee.

Development & Asset Management Committee

Andrew has been working in energy and sustainability for 15 years, with a focus on the housing sector for the past five years.

He is currently an Associate Director at Turner & Townsend, leading a team of housing sustainability consultants working to develop retrofit and sustainability strategies for local authorities and registered providers of social housing. He is also a member of the leadership team for a national programme of support for the social housing and private owned housing sector, helping to upskill providers to bid into funding and develop deliverable retrofit programmes.

He is passionate about the role of data and innovative technologies in decarbonising our housing stock and tackling fuel poverty.

Andrew is a co-opted member of our Development & Asset Management Committee.

Development & Asset Management Committee

Tony has more than 25-years’ experience in construction, development and asset management, and has held a number of executive and senior management positions within the housing sector. He currently works for Central & Cecil Housing Trust (part of the Aster Group), and prior to that was Director of Development & Asset Management at the Salvation Army Housing Association.

Tony has also worked at L&Q Group for over 10-years on a variety of major mixed-use development, regeneration and asset renewal projects. He is also a Board member for a London based Registered Provider.

On top of his decades of experience, Tony also has an honours degree in Quantity Surveying, and MSc in Construction Law & Dispute Resolution from King’s College. He is a member of the Society of Construction Law and the Chartered Institute of Building.

Tony is a co-opted member of our Development & Asset Management Committee.

Finance & Treasury Committee

Paul has worked with children and young people for over 35 years. He is currently Director for London Play, leading a small team, creating ideas and fruitful partnerships to help make London childhoods the best in the world. 

Paul is a qualified playwork trainer and has lectured in play and playwork for the University of East London. He was Chair of the International Play Association for England for 5 years, and in 2012, the Mayor of London appointed Paul a ‘London Leader’.

He is also a writer and has written on the subject of play for academic publications, authored short stories and published a dictionary about the language of the Beatles.

Paul is a member of our Customer Influence Committee and Finance & Treasury Committee.

Finance & Treasury Committee

Alex spent over 30 years in the financial services sector, with over 20 years’ experience of providing finance to housing association sector. This included supporting development/regeneration, facilitating stock transfers, and specific projects, including Private Finance Initiatives.

Alex has experience of operating within both the banking and institutional funding markets.

Governance and People Committee 

Peter has worked in social housing and estate regeneration since 2002. He currently works as a Programme Manager for a local housing authority where he supports a large-scale refurbishment programme, which has a net zero goal. He also leads the London group of housing professionals who are members of the Chartered Institute of Housing. 

Peter is also a Trustee of a regeneration charity and has previously held a variety of volunteering roles including managing a support centre for homeless people and safeguarding the rights of those in police custody.

Peter is a member of our Governance and People Committee. 

Audit & Risk Committee

Raj Singh Kambo is a qualified accountant with over 25 years of experience in Finance and Risk in top-tier organisations. He possesses proven skills in establishing effective risk management processes and financial controls. Raj also holds another Independent Committee member role in Audit & Risk at L&Q.

During his tenure at Citigroup, Raj was the Financial Controller and Chief Risk Officer at Citibank UK Limited. He has worked in many areas, including resource optimisation and regulatory policy. More recently, he was responsible for all aspects of risk management for the PRA/FCA-regulated Citi UK Consumer Bank.

Raj has also worked as a non-executive Director at both Breast Cancer Care and SignHealth, which means he also brings experience in the charity and care sectors. He has a Diploma in Corporate Governance and a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills.

Customer Influence Committee

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Rue brings a wealth of experience to her role on the Customer Influence Committee (CIC). She has built a career in the housing sector, driving improvements in diversity, street homelessness, youth services, immigration and community empowerment.

Eastlight resident Rue is a domestic abuse advocate with a passion for ending violence against women and girls. She has a particular interest in partnership working, ensuring different organisations work together to provide excellent, integrated services for their local community.

Rue serves as a Trustee for a women’s refuge and has previously worked for Eastlight as a Community Empowerment Co-ordinator in our All In programme.

In addition to her role on the CIC, Rue runs her own hair and beauty business that caters to all hair and skin types, and she records a weekly female empowerment podcast.

Customer Influence Committee

Eastlight resident Craig works together with his fellow committee members and the Board to ensure the organisation does what is right by residents and fully embraces the customer voice.

Craig brings his passion for sustainability and Net Zero Carbon to his role on the Committee, with an ultimate goal of achieving as close as possible to a zero emission household.

An electrician by trade, Craig used to be Math and an Accounting Tutor before joining Eastlight.

Craig looks forward to getting more involved in sustainability within the housing sector, and he is interested in connecting with like-minded individuals.

Customer Influence Committee

Michael (‘Mick’) is a retired Health & Safety professional, with over 40 years of experience in the construction and rail industries. He has a range of expertise spanning health and wellbeing, including putting the best possible support mechanisms in place for those with learning disabilities or have other physical needs.

As a member of our Customer Influence Committee, Mick uses his voice as an Eastlight resident to advocate for greater transparency and inclusion in our decision-making processes, ensuring tenant voices are heard and their needs are addressed.

He continues to use his health and safety expertise, coupled with a commitment to supporting individuals with diverse needs, to drive positive change in the organisation.

Customer Influence Committee

Magenta has over 15 years of experience in the DIY and construction supplies industry, helping people to make their house a home. She previously worked for Eastlight as a Community Entrepreneur in our All In incubator programme.

As an Eastlight resident, Magenta brings the customer voice to the forefront, especially in the delivery of our New Homes Strategy. She scrutinises our design processes, thinking and the overall new-build experience for our customers.

Magenta collaborates closely with the Eastlight team to deliver our equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, including building our LGBTQ+ Residents Network. As a queer woman, she understands firsthand the importance of having a representative voice in the community and a home where you feel safe and accepted.