PA Housing has confirmed the names of its five new non-executive board members.
The new appointments will allow four existing members of the board to retire – in a staggered handover – following more than six years of tenure at PA Housing.
Jo Banfield, Tom Vaughan, Tim Hill, Susan Goldsmith, and Tim Jennings will join the 23,000-home social housing provider over the coming weeks.
All five board members bring a “wealth” of experience in either supporting or working in the social housing sector, with both Tom Vaughan and Tim Jennings previously holding executive director and non-executive director positions at other providers.
The new appointments also bring cross-sector knowledge, something PA Housing says increases the board’s diversity of thought.
Suki Kalirai, chair at PA Housing, said: “This is an exciting time to join PA Housing to support us in improving our organisation at every level for the benefit of our residents.
“I was delighted with the level of interest we received for these roles on our board and am extremely pleased to be able to add people with such a wealth of knowledge, capability, and skills gleaned in a wide range of senior roles across multiple sectors.
“Their support will enhance our capabilities to develop further and stronger as an organisation with residents leading our focus.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Steve Amos and Curtis Juman, who are leaving at the end of July, both were instrumental in forming PA Housing and have worked diligently and with good grace over the last seven years.
“We wish you well in your future roles.”
Backgrounds
Jo Banfield
Since 2017, Jo (pictured, right) has been the HR director at Grosvenor Property UK leading a team of 13 people, supporting the company to evolve with a revised people and culture strategy and clear ambitions on increasing diversity and inclusivity within the business.
Jo started her executive career on the graduate programme at Marks & Spencer, spending six years in HR management roles in store and at regional store level.
This was followed by 17-years in a variety of UK and international HR roles in Ford Motor Company, Centrica Plc, AOL and DST Systems.
Additionally, Jo has held non-executive roles at Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Housing Association, served as chair of Oatlands Pre-School Nursery, and is currently chair of the People in Property HR Director networking Group.
Tom Vaughan
Tom (pictured, left) holds a portfolio of non-executive roles in a range of sectors, including housing, where he is a board member and chair of the Customer Services Committee at LiveWest Homes, a board member at Clevedon Pier, and chair of the Clevedon BID.
He has previously served as chair of Flocert GMBH, a global fairtrade standards licensing company; vice-chair of Freedom Food (RSPCA); and held board roles at three other housing associations.
Tom has had an executive career in customer-facing marketing leadership roles at Unilever, BP, and Affinity Sutton.
Tim Jennings
Tim (pictured, right) is a chartered accountant commencing his working life in the audit function of a professional services firm before moving to client-side operating roles
He spent more than 20 years at Capita Plc, rising to lead in multiple Divisional FD roles, before joining Aldwyck Housing Association in 2015 as executive director of Finance, and subsequently executive director of Finance at Catalyst Housing Association until 2022.
Tim has extensive executive director experience of regulated sector of social housing, including the IDA process and the metrics that are key to managing the ongoing business for all stakeholders including funders.
Tim is also a board member of Communities Housing Association, Cambridge Housing Association, Ability Housing Association, and chair of Milton Keynes Housing Company.
Tim Hill
Since 2017, Tim (pictured, left) has been helping housebuilders, housing associations, and Dandara (UK Housing) set up strategies to review risk around people, policies, development opportunities, finance, and the rollout of new integrated IT.
Tim started his career in 1990 with a graduate training contract with Brooking Knowles and Lawrence, a Hampshire-based firm of chartered accountants.
He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1993 and progressed to managing their Fareham non-audit clients.
Tim switched into housebuilding in 1996 with Alfred McAlpine, followed by 25 years with Taylor Wimpey PLC or Barratt Developments PLC as a finance, sales, or managing director – as well as acting as a mentor and graduate assessor for the national business.
Tim has served as an independent member of PA Housing’s Investment Committee since 2020 and is currently an Independent development committee member of Whg.
He also volunteers to help students practise interviews at Havant and South Downs College.
Susan Goldsmith
A qualified chartered accountant, Susan (pictured, right) brings experience in leading regulated, safety-critical, and customer-facing organisations.
She has a track record in driving business performance and transformation, with a focus on improving customer experience.
She also sits on the board of GreenSquareAccord and London Marathon Events Ltd and undertakes various customer experience-based consulting assignments.
Susan was deputy chief executive at medical regulator the General Medical Council and, prior to that, operations director at airport group BAA, with specific responsibility for Heathrow.
Before joining BAA, Susan held various senior roles, including deputy chief executive at transport and logistics group National Express.
Her earlier career was based in Retail (Kingfisher Group) and Media (Bertelsmann Media Group-Random House, BMG etc).
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