Meet our Board

Our Board has ultimate responsibility for making sure that Eastlight Community Homes runs properly and delivers for our customers. We operate with a simple governance structure which is outlined below.

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Hattie Llewelyn Davies (1)

Hattie Llewelyn-Davies

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.

 

Michelle Baker

Michelle Baker

Senior Independent Director (SID)

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

An accountant, Michelle is an Eastlight resident and reflects the views of customers at every opportunity.

She reflects Eastlight’s customer voice at sector events and in the media, and she is passionate about improving the experience for disabled people.

To ensure a wide range of residents can be involved in Eastlight, Michelle advocates flexible and digital engagement opportunities that fit around people's lives. She serves her local community as clerk and Responsible Financial Officer for her parish council.

Michelle is also Chair of our Customer Influence Committee and a member of the Governance & People Committee.

David Russell (1)

David Russell

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.

Dale Butcher (1)

Dale Butcher

Board Member

Dale is a highly-skilled businessman with expertise in strategy, transformation and growth.

Previously he was Chair of our pre-merger organisation Greenfields Community Housing.

He is Chair of our Development & Asset Management Committee and brings a blend of commercial knowledge, understanding of development and the needs of our residents and communities to our Board. 

Having spent more than 25 years in the Automotive Industry in retail and distribution, Dale is also an adviser to the Emil Frey Group of Switzerland (2012), a board member of the Enthusiasm Trust Derby (2014) and a Trustee of the Inchcape Pension Scheme.

 

Kay Vowles (1)

Kay Vowles

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.

Cha Patel (1)

Cha Patel

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.

Simon Jones (1)

Simon Jones

Board Member

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&TC) and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).

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.

 

Mike Johnson (1)

Mike Johnson

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.

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Gail Shadlock

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.

Catherine Turner

Catherine Turner

Board Member

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 Customer Influence Committee and Development & Asset Management Committee. 

Copy Of Leadership Team (2)

Steve Bentall

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.

 

Our Committee Members

Chris Miller (1)

Chris Miller

Development & Asset Management Committee

Chris has more than 30 years of housing and development experience.

He is Development Director at 33,000-home housing association Midland Heart and leading their ambition to build 3,000 homes by 2024.

He is also a Board Member at homelessness charity St Basils, which works with young people.

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Andrew Tod

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.

Tony Bacon Adobe

Tony Bacon

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.

Paul Hocker

Paul Hocker

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.

Copy Of Leadership Team (1)

Alex Gipson

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.

Peter Brown Adobe

Peter Brown

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. 

Leadership Team Bio Raj Kambo Rev

Raj Singh Kambo

Audit & Risk Committee Member

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.

Our Governance Structure

 

Board

Our Board drives strategy and directs the affairs of Eastlight Community Homes. It has responsibility for the overall control of Eastlight and its subsidiaries, including monitoring performance; determining strategic direction; governance and oversight; overseeing the management and mitigation of risks and issues; and determining resources to meet financial and other obligations.

Customer Influence Committee (CIC)

Oversees and supports the Board in ensuring that customers influence decision making and a wide variety of their views are considered. The Committee oversees and monitors strategies and key policies that impact on customers. Visit our CIC page to learn more here.

Audit & Risk Committee (ARC)

Ensures systems of internal control, assurance and risk management are appropriate and effective and that legal, statutory and regulatory requirements are properly audited and reviewed.

Development & Asset Management Committee (DAM)

Oversees programmes of investment, including land acquisition, development and regeneration, and the associated financing and investment in net zero carbon activity. The Committee also approves programmes beyond delegated thresholds for executive.

Governance & People Committee (G&P)

Oversees and supports the Board in maintaining excellent governance through skills-based recruitment and succession, oversees remuneration of the Board and executive, regularly monitoring effectiveness and recommending enhancements to governance. The Committee also monitors our People Strategy and key policies, including Safeguarding and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

Finance & Treasury Committee (F&T)

Oversees financial strategy and performance and supports the Board in maintaining financial viability. The Committee also recommends, oversees and implements the organisation’s funding strategy and executes funding transactions on behalf of the Board.

Eastlight Community Homes Limited. Co-operative and Community Benefit Society Registration No. 30124R. Registered Provider No. L4499. Regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing. A charity exempt from registration.