Broadacres Housing Association has appointed Helen Simpson as chair of the board.
Simpson is an experienced commercial leader who spent much of her career working in senior management roles for BT, where she specialised in business development, strategy, digital transformation, and social responsibility.
She gained experience of social housing when she worked with Circle Housing, one of the UK’s largest housing associations, and in recent years she has served as a board member of Your Homes Newcastle.
Simpson has also served as a trustee with St Martins-in-the-Fields and their work with the people who have been vulnerably housed.
At Broadacres, she will be responsible for leading the 11-strong board as it determines the organisation’s strategic direction and monitors performance in partnership with the executive team.
Commenting on her appointment, Simpson said: “I am excited to be appointed as the new chair of Broadacres.
“It’s great to be joining a team which is so committed to providing safe, secure and warm homes for our customers and is making great progress towards realising our vision of being the best rural housing association in the country.
“Housing associations like Broadacres are fascinating because they are commercial businesses which need to be well run and able to manage their assets efficiently, in order to make an enormous, positive social contribution to the local communities they serve.
“In Broadacres’ specific case, it’s clear they are a very customer focused organisation committed to building high quality, new affordable homes and, just as importantly, investing in its existing homes.
“I am therefore looking forward to speaking to customers and understanding what their needs are during these difficult and challenging times and how best the board and management team together can deliver a great customer experience through this period and beyond.”
End of tenure
Simpson replaces Colin Wilkie, who has reached the end of his statutory six-year term as the chair of Broadacres.
She officially took up her role on 10th August when Colin Wilkie formally stood down.
Commenting on Simpson’s appointment, Gail Teasdale, chief executive of Broadacres, said: “We are delighted to welcome Helen as the new chair of Broadacres’ board.
“Her considerable experience in the commercial world, combined with her knowledge of the social housing sector will prove invaluable as we make progress towards our vision of being the best rural housing provider in the UK.
“We will do this by building news homes which make rural areas sustainable for future generations, by investing in our existing properties, and in particular tackling the issue of affordable warmth, and delivering a great customer experience.”
Speaking about Colin’s time as chair, Gail added: “I would like to put on record our thanks for everything Colin has done during his time as Broadacres’ chair.
“He has been instrumental in getting Broadacres to the strong position we are in now and deserves all the accolades he has been receiving from fellow board members, colleagues and customers.”
Broadacres owns and manages more than 6,500 homes in the North Yorkshire area.
Main image: Helen Simpson (front) with Colin Wilkie and Broadacres Chief Executive Gail Teasdale
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