Meet our Leadership Teams

Acting Chief Executive 

Dan Jones is the Acting Chief Executive of resident-led housing association Eastlight Community Homes. Holding overall responsibility for the organisation's strategic direction and operations, he is committed to making a difference to the lives of residents and communities across the East of England.

In his previous role as Eastlight's Chief Information Officer, Dan oversaw data strategy and analytics, information technology, strategic partnerships, performance reporting, business improvement and continuity, and major projects.

He joined the housing association in September 2020 having held senior leadership roles in the sector since 2015. Prior to Eastlight, Dan was Executive Director of Integration at Metropolitan Thames Valley, having previously been Executive Director of Strategy & Planning at Metropolitan Housing Trust.

His previous experience was in the private retail sector where his focus was on operational improvement, performance analytics and customer insight at organisations including Tesco, BT, WHSmith and Sainsbury’s.

Dan has an MBiochem (Hons) in Biochemistry from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Chief Financial Officer

David leads Eastlight’s financial services, including our financial operations, procurement, income, insurance and treasury teams.

Originally joining Eastlight as Finance Director in 2023, David brings a wealth of experience from the housing sector, spanning strategy, governance, investor relations and financial control. He is well-versed in leading large-scale business transformations through mergers and acquisitions across both private and not-for-profit sectors.

David was formerly the Assistant Director of Resources at 6,000-home Thrive Homes UK. He previously also held leadership positions at some of the UK’s largest housing associations, including Settle, Peabody, Circle and Wheatley Group.

David is committed to delivering value for money and supporting his colleagues to do the best job they can in serving customers and communities.

Passionate about championing equality and diversity, David promotes a culture of ‘giving back’ and is dedicated to supporting charitable causes.

Chief Strategy, Governance & Assurance Officer (Complaints & Resolutions Lead; Health & Safety Lead)

Jo heads up Eastlight’s governance, strategy, risk and assurance teams. She is responsible for annual planning, GDPR and regulatory compliance, as well as complaints, customer resolutions, customer and stakeholder communications, and external affairs.

As well as being Eastlight's Complaints & Resolutions Lead, Jo heads up and leads our health and safety team, responsible for the overall health, safety and wellbeing of our residents, staff members and any third parties, including volunteers, that work with us or by our instructions.

With over 25 years of experience in local authorities, housing associations and as a consultant, Jo was the previous Director of Policy & Projects at Flagship Group before joining Eastlight in 2023 as our Strategy & Assurance Director.

Jo is a Non-Executive Director at Freebridge Community Housing, and she is also a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

Committed to ensuring excellence in the housing sector, Jo strives to make a positive impact on the people, places and communities for which she works.

Jo has a First-Class BA (Hons) degree in Housing Studies.

Chief Property Officer

Charlotte joined Eastlight in 2020. As our Chief Property Officer, she has strategic responsibility for asset management, capital investment and compliance across the 15,000 homes in our portfolio, including fire safety and sustainability.

In her role, she also oversees our in-house reactive repairs, planned works and home maintenance teams. She also leads development and regeneration teams, heading up the delivery of Eastlight’s new homes programme, including land and stock acquisition, sales and new-build aftercare.

A surveyor by trade, Charlotte has over 20 years of experience in housing management and property services. She played an integral role as part of the leadership team responsible for supporting the merger to form Eastlight in 2020.

Prior to that, Charlotte gained experience working for housing associations, including at Orbit Group, and in local authorities.

Charlotte is completing her Chartered Membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. She also holds an MSc in Sustainability from Cranfield University.

Chief Customer Officer (Consumer Standards Lead)

With over 25 years of experience in social housing, spanning frontline delivery, operational management and senior leadership, Dave is a values-led leader with a proven ability to transform customer experience, raise performance and deliver services that are both efficient and effective. Throughout his career, he has remained focused on putting people at the centre of every decision.

At Eastlight, Dave leads housing management services across the neighbourhood and operations teams, with responsibility for customer services, income management, lettings and empty homes, leasehold services, and intensive housing support.

He is also Eastlight's Consumer Standards Lead, ensuring the organisation remains compliant with Consumer Regulation, as set out in the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

Before joining Eastlight, Dave held several senior leadership roles at Stonewater, including Director of Housing Operations and Customer Experience Director. As Director of Housing Operations, he held a senior director role with responsibility for a broad portfolio delivering services to 40,000 homes and 90,000 customers. Across these roles, he led performance, service improvement and customer experience at scale, delivering major change programmes in lettings, income and customer voice, and successfully leading stock transitions and mergers.

Earlier in his career, Dave held senior roles at Wellingborough Homes (now Greatwell Homes) and B3Living, where he further developed his operational expertise and broadened his leadership experience.

Dave holds a Professional Diploma in Housing, an HNC in Housing Studies, and additional qualifications in management, law and counselling. He is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Chief People Officer

Sharon has executive responsibility for human resources, recruitment and retention, organisational development, talent acquisition, culture, and equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Sharon has over 30 years of leadership experience spanning the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to joining Eastlight (then Greenfields) in 2019, she held senior HR roles at Guinness Care, Optivo (now Southern Housing) and Southern Water, as well as leading roles within the police service, including at the Nottinghamshire and Sussex forces.

At the heart of Sharon’s work is investing in the capabilities of our people, delivering excellent customer service, embracing diversity at every level of the organisation, and building an inclusive culture for our people, residents and communities.

Chief Information Officer

As Interim Chief Information Officer, Amit leads Eastlight's data, digital, technology, performance reporting, business improvement, business continuity, and major change programmes.

A highly accomplished technology and transformation leader, Amit brings extensive experience in digital innovation, data strategy, artificial intelligence, and organisational change.

He has served as Chief Information Officer and Executive Consultant across a range of public and private sector organisations, leading complex programmes and delivering lasting business improvement. He has a particularly strong track record within the housing sector, having supported significant change initiatives across housing associations in London, the East of England and the Midlands.

Before joining Eastlight in 2026, Amit worked as an Executive Technology & Transformation Consultant at Gateway Housing Association, where he helped shape the organisation's technology strategy, enterprise architecture, operating model, data analytics capabilities, and agile ways of working. Prior to this, he served as Executive Director of Strategy, Transformation & Culture at Richmond Housing Partnership, and Director of Data, Technology & Programme Delivery at Stonewater.

Amit is passionate about creating customer-focused organisations and empowering colleagues to deliver their best work through clear service standards, strong leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.

He recently completed his tenure as a Trustee on the Board of Action Homeless Leicester, helping to support the charity’s mission to tackle homelessness and provide vital community services.

He holds an Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) Level 7 qualification in Executive Business Management.

Board Chair (Interim)

As Chair of the Board (Interim) at Eastlight Community Homes, Chris is responsible for providing strategic leadership, ensuring strong governance and maintaining a clear focus on delivering for residents.

Chris brings more than 30 years’ experience as a Chair, Non-Executive Director and Committee Member across housing and charitable organisations. He has extensive expertise in development and asset management, alongside experience in audit, risk and customer services.

A Chartered Construction Manager with more than 45 years in the sector, Chris has played a key role in housing association mergers.

Chris is also Founder and Chair of Safe & Found Online, Chair of facilities management specialists Laker BMS, and Senior Independent Director and Non-Executive Director at Newlon Housing Trust. He previously served in senior leadership positions at Watford Community Housing Group since 2016, including as Group Chair from 2021 to 2026.

Since joining Eastlight in 2024, Chris chaired our Development & Asset Management Committee and served on the Governance & People Committee.

Board Member (Senior Independent Director)

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

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.

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.

She is the Chair of our Governance & People Committee (G&P) and a member of the Audit & Risk Committee.

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 Audit & Risk Committee (A&R).

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

Amandeep is an architect and urban designer turned entrepreneur who previously worked as an Associate Director at Be First, LB Barking & Dagenham’s regeneration company.

During his time there Be First delivered over 2,000 homes including 70% that were affordable and social rent. He also led the development of an MHCLG funded retrofit design code for the Becontree Estate, a 29,000 home neighbourhood

He is also a trustee for the London Neighbourhood Scholarship charity, a Lead Ambassador with the Design Council’s Homes Taskforce, chairs Hackney, Kingston, and Croydon Design Review Panels, advises on Retrofit & Heritage with the NLA, a non-executive director for New World Housing Association, and mentors with Future of London, supporting the next generation of young professionals.

Amandeep is a member of our Development & Asset Management Committee and also our Customer Influence Committee.

Board Member

Argiri is a highly experienced director with a strong professional background in governance, risk and assurance, complemented by leadership across a broad range of corporate services. Her executive and non-executive career spans both the social housing and health sectors, where she has consistently driven improvement and accountability.

She is deeply aligned with Eastlight’s ambition to be a leading housing association in the region and is committed to working collaboratively with residents to achieve shared goals.

In addition to her role at Eastlight, Argiri serves as an Advisor to the Audit Committee at the Royal College of Nursing and is a member of the Advisory Board for Connex Leadership Networks. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), reflecting her ongoing commitment to social progress and leadership innovation.

Argiri currently serves on Eastlight’s Audit and Risk Committee as well as the Governance and People Committee.

Board Member

David has over 30 years’ experience operating at an executive level in both executive and non-executive roles.  He is an experienced leader in finance and property, holding chair and committee role positions in a range of property entities, including Housing Associations.

David is committed to organisations with strong values that are focused on excellent customer service; organisations that add value in all that they do – indeed, organisations with a purpose to make a meaningful improvement to communities and people’s lives.

David is a Chartered Accountant, with a prowess in finance, risk and commercial property. David is the Chair of our Finance & Treasury Committee and a member of our Development & Asset Management Committee. 

Board Member

Phil’s last role was as Chief Information Officer at an NHS Trust in Essex. He has spent the past 21 years in the NHS, leading teams across digital, technology and operational delivery. 

His track record includes leading large, successful programmes focused on improvement and digital transformation – encompassing service redesign, performance management and innovative working practices.

Phil has a strong value base and firmly believes in close engagement with colleagues and clients. 

He is also a trustee of his local primary school and a member of its Audit and Finance Committees. 

Phil is a member of our Governance & People Committee and Audit & Risk Committee.

Trainee Board Member

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.

Based in Sudbury, Magenta is an experienced member of our Customer Influence Committee (CIC), bringing a strong customer perspective to Eastlight.

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 us to deliver our equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, including building our LGBTQ+ Residents Network. As a queer woman, she understands first-hand the importance of having a representative voice in the community and a home where you feel safe and accepted.

In addition to being Eastlight’s Trainee Board Member, she also Chairs our Resident Steering Group under the Resident Members Charter, further extending resident influence across the organisation.

Magenta is a CIC associate for the Governance & People Committee.

Customer Influence Committee (Committee Lead for Customer Voice)

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.

In his role on the Committee, Craig acts as a conduit between the CIC and other resident groups within Eastlight, ensuring that the CIC considers wider resident voice to inform their decision-making and to keep residents in other groups regularly informed and updated on the work of the Committee.

An electrician by trade, Craig used to be a Maths and 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

Paul has worked with children and young people for over 35 years. He is currently Director for London Play, leading a small team and 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 (CIC) and a CIC associate for the Finance & Treasury Committee.

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

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 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.

In addition to his role on the Customer Influence Committee (CIC), Mick is also a CIC associate for the Audit & Risk Committee.

Customer Influence Committee

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.

Customer Influence Committee

With extensive experience in the public sector and housing industry, Braintree-based Julie always has customer experience at the forefront of her mind and is committed to giving Eastlight residents a voice that will be heard.

Customer Influence Committee 

Customer Influence Committee

With over 40 years’ public sector experience across the NHS and Children’s Services, Joanna Jones combines expertise in business operations and data-led service improvement with lived experience as a long-term resident and community advocate.

Read more about how the CIC, and other resident groups, have influenced Eastlight in 2024-25.

Read more about how we've influenced Eastlight in 2023-2024.

Find out how we've made a difference in 2022-23.