Board member profiles
See the Board Members page for a
membership list of each Board.
Ashley West
Board Membership – 2004
Chair of the Board - 2010
Ashley has worked as an independent
consultant and as a Non-Executive Director of several companies
since 2001. His current appointments include Chairman of Medway
LIFT Company Limited, which develops and maintains affordable
premises for the benefit of the Health and Social Care Community in
Medway and a Non-Executive Director of DW Group Holdings Ltd, a
company involved in the manufacture of street lighting and in
lighting maintenance in the retail sector.
He is a Fellow of The Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants, The Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants and The Institute of Directors and is a
member of the Executive Committee of the Kent Branch of the
IoD.
Roland
Ginn
Board Membership - 2010
Chair Of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
Roland has extensive experience in the finance sector gained within
blue chip organisations in both the Public and Private sectors. He
has a strong track record of adding value in both small and large
businesses and delivering change programs in complex organisations
using project management, risk assessment and relationship
management skills.
He has experience at Board level in both an executive and NED
capacity. He currently has two non executive directorships, both in
Social housing. He was appointed Chair of the Finance, Risk and
Audit Committee of mhs homes in July 2010 and is also the Chair of
the Audit and Risk Committee for Guinness South, the largest
division within the Guinness Partnership.
Joe
Scullion
Board Membership - July
2008
Board Member mhs homes 2008
Member Finance Risk and Audit Committee 2009
A resident of Rochester since 1987, Joe is currently the Chief
Executive of a small specialist Housing Association providing homes
for Older People in London. He has worked in Housing for over 20
years for a number of Local Authorities and Housing Associations in
a variety of roles including Housing Management, Development,
Homeless services and Best Value and has previously sat on the
Board of three Housing Associations.
John Collinge
Member Finance Risk and Audit
Committee 2008
John has worked in the banking industry in London, New York, Europe
and the Middle East. His transition from banking to housing
happened in 1993 when he joined Western Challenge (now Spectrum) as
Director of Finance and Corporate Services. He then went on to
become the Deputy Chief Executive of the Group and Chief Executive
of one of the main operating subsidiaries. In 2005 he started
his own consultancy working on a range of different
assignments.
He first became interested in being
part of the mhs team when he was involved in the original financing
package when the housing stock was transferred from Medway Council.
In addition to his involvement at mhs. He is also a group board
member at Radian Group, chairs the Group Audit Committee, and is a
member of a specially formed Treasury Panel.
Simon Braid
Member Finance Risk and Audit
Committee 2009
Simon Braid is a chartered accountant and former partner with KPMG
where he led the firm’s social housing and charity practices for
over ten years. He led audits and advisory work for some of the
largest charities and social landlords in the UK and also worked
with global commercial companies. He spent two years seconded to
central government during the 1980s.
Simon chaired Housing Corporation’s
inquiry into Ujima in 2008 and has experience of various technical
committees including chairing the Institute of Chartered
Accountants’ Social Housing Committee. He has been trustee of two
charities and is a member of the Third Sector Partnership Board of
the Department for Communities and Local Government. He is a mentor
for the CASS Business School. Since leaving KPMG, Simon has been
ordained and works as a part time non-stipendiary curate in
Hildenborough, Kent.
Pat
Austin
Board Membership –
2006
Tenant Board Representative mhs
homes board
Pat was born in Medway and has always
lived in the area. Before retiring in 2006, Pat worked at mhs homes
for 20 years, 16 as a Scheme Manager and 4 as a Home Support
Advisor. Pat has for the past two years worked part time as a Care
Assistant for the Cerebral Palsy Care and during that time she has
studied and passed her NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care. Pat
is also a volunteer for the local Samaritans based in Strood.
Chris Sparks
Board Membership – 2008
Board member of mhs commercial
services
Chair of mhs commercial services 2009
Board member of mhs homes 2009
Chris has lived in Medway for eleven years and has been in the
private house building industry for the last 25 years. He was
Managing Director for Ward Homes for 3 years up until 2007 and now
runs his own house building company based in Upnor, developing
small executive schemes.
Ian
Cannings
Board Membership – 2009
Non Executive Director mhs
commercial services
Ian Cannings has spent the last 27
years in the Construction Industry. Ian has followed a
traditional management career, working his way through site
management positions after graduating from University. He has
mainly worked in the Interiors sector, predominately in London and
the South of England and more lately, has also been involved with
insurance claim repairs and residential developments. His career
includes being an Executive Director of the Wates Group
including Managing Director of their Interiors business from
1995 to 2003. Ian is currently carrying out work as a business
consultant assisting businesses and their owners realise
potential.
Darryl
Hogan
Board Membership - 2011
Non Executive Director mhs commercial services
Darryl has spent 39 years in the Building Industry operating across
the southern half of the country. He held senior management roles
with specialist contractors providing maintenance and refurbishment
services to Public and blue chip Private Sector clients. He has
spent 15 years in London and the South East, delivering a range of
long term projects for Social Landlords through a mixture of
partnering and collaborative working relationships.
Geoff
Waters
Board Membership – 2010
Chair mhs community charity
Board
Geoff studied at Christ Church College Canterbury and qualified as
a teacher in 1975, teaching in Ashford and Dover before moving to
Gillingham in 1985 as the Divisional Youth Officer. He worked for
the Kent Youth Service for 24 years as a Teacher, Youth Worker and
Special Projects Officer before joining Medway Council in 2003 and
retiring in 2010. A keen sportsman, Geoff is Chair of the Medway
Duke of Edinburgh's Award Panel, Vice Chair of Featherby Junior
School Governors and Walk Tall Trust. He is also a member of the
Medway Rotary club, Medway Water Sports, Halpern and Crossroads
Trusts and is actively engaged with MAGIC and Training Them
Live.
Cllr Ted Baker
Board Membership – 2006
mhs community charity Trustee and
Director
Ted was born in Maidstone but has lived in Rochester since
1944. He served with the Royal Marines for 2 years National Service
and 5 years in the reserves. He was originally a Printer for 26
years and then became a Prison Officer for 18 years. A Councillor
since 1961, Ted has been Mayor once and Deputy Mayor three times.
He has also been a Rotarian for six years, a Governor at Sir Joseph
Williamsons Mathematical School, a Trustee of Rochester Girls
School and is the Chairman of Trustees for the ABC Project based in
Borstal.
Isabelle Pocock
Board Membership – 2010
mhs community charity
Trustee
Isabelle has worked at mhs homes since
2007 initially as Facilities Manager and currently as Deputy
Company Secretary since 2010. She is currently studying with
ICSA to achieve Chartered Secretary Status and has been an LA
Governor on the Board of Governors at Maidstone Grammar School for
Girls since 2005. She has previously worked within contracting as
Company Secretary to a Private Limited Company.
Ken
Wheeler
Board Membership – 2010
Chair of Heart of Medway Housing
Association
mhs community charity Trustee and Director
A Gillingham resident for most of his life, Ken was a founding
partner of a successful Kent Estate Agency, which was sold to the
Nationwide Building Society in 1987. He has spent his entire
working life in sales and marketing, been a director of several
companies within the Johnson Service Group and latterly has run his
own sales and marketing consultancy.
Now retired, Ken is still active as a non executive director of
the Liquid Business Group, runs the Business Community Breakfast,
is Chair of The Grumpy Old Men’s Investment Club (GOMS) and has a
number of roles at St Augustine’s Church, Gillingham. He is
passionate about helping people progress in life as well as in
business and is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales & Marketing
Management.
Wendy
Mesher
Board Membership – 2010
Heart of Medway Trustee
Wendy has more than 30 years
experience in Local Government working in town planning and
regeneration. For the last ten years she has been based in Medway
and been involved in major physical regeneration projects, strategy
and policy development for social and economic regeneration and
programme management for the Thames Gateway funded projects,
including housing initiatives. Wendy now works with a couple of
local groups on funding bids and is a Director of Medway Creative,
a Community Interest Company seeking to support local creative
entrepreneurs.
Lyn
Wallis
Board Membership – 2010
Heart of Medway Trustee
Lyn has lived in Medway for 25
years and has been a customer of mhs homes for the past 4 1/2
years. She re-trained as a Chef and gained an NVQ from Mid Kent
College at the age of 50 and worked at Kingsnorth Power Station for
9 years as a Chef before she retired. In addition to her position
as Trustee of the Heart of Medway Housing Association, Lyn also
sits on the mhs homes Customer Scrutiny Panel.
Janet MacGregor
Board Membership - 2012
Tenant Board Representative mhs
homes board
Janet has lived in Medway for 40 years
and been a tenant for 29 years, initially with the council and now
with mhs homes. Janet is a qualified teaching assistant and was an
active volunteer at local schools until becoming a full time carer
for her father.
These experiences, along with being a
mother of two has given Janet life skills and a good understanding
of the needs of tenants and social housing.
Mick
Luther
Board Membership - 2012
Staff Board Representative mhs homes board
Mick has worked for mhs
homes group for 20 years. He started as a tradesperson working for
mhs commercial and has also been a decorator and foreman
decorator, site supervisor and senior maintenance surveyor. He
is currently the repairs supervisor for mhs direct.
Mick was born and raised in
Medway and gained an advanced Guilds at college in Rochester. He is
married with five children and one granddaughter.
Alison
Brown
Non-executive Director mhs commercial
Board Membership - 2012
Alison Brown has spent the last 21 years of her career working
within the social housing sector. She has worked for housing
associations, a local authority and the ex-housing regulator.
Alison has held positions as a Regional Managing Director for a
leading national housing maintenance and domiciliary care provider
as well as an independent board member for an arm's-length
management organisation. She currently runs her own business
providing market intelligence, business development and service
improvement support to the social housing maintenance sector.