HELEN TAKES THE CHAIR AT BROADACRES

Broadacres  has recruited Helen Simpson to head its board.

Helen is replacing Colin Wilkie, who has reached the end of his statutory six-year term as the Association’s Chair.

Helen 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 & 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 been a Board Member at Your Homes Newcastle, as well as serving as a Trustee with St Martins-in-the-Fields in their work with the vulnerably housed.

At Broadacres she will be responsible for leading the board of 11 as it determines the strategic direction and monitors the performance of the organisation, in partnership with the Executive team.

Helen says: “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.”

Helen lives in Thirsk and is married to Derek, who is Rector of Thirsk. They have three grown up children.

She will officially take up her role on 10th August when Colin Wilkie formally stands down.

Gail Teasdale, Chief Executive of Broadacres Housing Association 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.”