Our people
We are proud of our colleagues and their strong motivation to improve our customers’ experience. We also understand that providing a positive working environment helps our colleagues deliver an excellent service. bpha was again recognised in 2023 as being a Great Place to Work (GPTW applies employees’ insights from 10,000 organisations), including specific recognition for valuing employee wellbeing.
Our values were established with significant input from our colleagues and supported by our customers’ feedback. They shape how we recruit, onboard, develop, and reward our people and encourage the behaviours customers say are most important.
Our colleagues also helped establish our new ways of working more flexibly and productively, including reimagining our office to make it more collaborative and tech savvy.
We value a diverse and equal culture, that represents and nurtures a wide range of ideas and views. While EDI is everybody’s responsibility, we have a dedicated diversity and inclusion lead, an executive sponsor, a cross business strategic team and a range of employee-led inclusion groups.
Board members
The Board is collectively responsible for ensuring the success of bpha and its compliance with all legal and regulatory obligations by directing and supervising bpha’s affairs.
The Board:
- provides leadership of bpha;
- sets the organisation’s strategic aims, ensures that the necessary financial and human resources are in place for the bpha to meet its objectives, and reviews management performance;
- sets the organisation’s values and standards and ensures that its legal and regulatory obligations are understood and met; and
- fulfils the functions as outlined in bpha’s Rules.
Jeff Halliwell
Chair and Non-Executive Director
Jeff is the Chair of bpha. He is also the Chair of the Coal Authority, Deputy Chair of the Sea Fish Industry Authority and Director of Widgit Ltd and Colborough Ltd.
Jeff was born and raised in Northampton, and after a career of living and working in various places around the world, he has found his way back. He has made his ‘non-exec’ career focus on supporting organisations that have a social purpose and is looking forward to furthering bpha’s objectives.
Outside of work, Jeff and his wife are busy with their nine grandchildren.
Maxwell Bero
Non-Executive Director
Maxwell brings over 15 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant and Chief Internal Auditor within the insurance market. He has led internal audit functions and has been on a number of Boards including London South East College. Max is currently the Chief Internal Auditor of Flood Re Limited, and joins our Board as NED and a member of the Audit and Risk and Group Treasury Committees.
Paul High
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Development and Assets Committee
Paul brings over 36 years’ experience in residential development and property management, the majority of which has been in the housing association sector.
He has been responsible for the strategic leadership of the Orbit Homes’ Property Investment Programme, the housebuilder of Orbit Group, for eight years. As Executive Director of Property Investment, Paul was responsible for delivering over 1,700 new homes in the Midlands, East Anglia and the South East in 2015-16.
Currently, Paul is an Independent (Non-Executive) Director at Pelham Homes (the housebuilding subsidiary of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire). Previously, he was the Director of Development and Asset Management at WM Housing Group and the Director of Development at Castle Vale Housing Action Trust in Birmingham.
He also spent three years whilst at Orbit as a board member of Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT).
Completes term of office December 2024.
Katherine Horrell
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Group Treasury Committee
Katherine qualified originally as an accountant and then with the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). She has now worked in Corporate Treasury and Finance for over 20 years, holding Group Treasurer positions at Centrica plc, Arriva plc, and the AA. She is currently employed at Sizewell C as their Treasurer Director.
Katherine has served as trustee for a local mental health charity in Surrey for 8 years, on the Board of Greensquare Housing Association prior to their merger; and is currently a Council Member at the ACT. She grew up and was educated in Bucks, Northants, Cambridge and Oxford and is delighted to be back supporting people, communities and development in the area.
Shirley Pointer
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee
Shirley has over 20 years’ senior HR experience gained in the private and public sectors, including as Director of Human Resources for the Department of Health. Currently Shirley is a Director at Pavillions Management Company Limited.
She is a Senior Independent Director of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Chairs the Remuneration Committee and the Workforce and Education Committee. She is also a non-executive board member designate of the Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board.
Steve Dickinson
Non-Executive Director
Steve brings 30 years’ experience as a Quantity Surveyor within the residential property development sector, specialising in Commercial Management. He started his own property development, commercial management, and supply chain consultancy in 2020, following a role as Commercial Director at the Berkeley Group, working within London and the south-east.
In addition to his role at bpha, Steve is a Trustee of Amicus Trust, a local homeless charity whose aim is to ensure everyone has a chance to achieve a life free from homelessness and a place in their community. He is also a Director at Heathfield Consultants Limited and Thamesway Limited and its subsidiaries.
Dr Geraldine O’Sullivan
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Customer Committee
Geraldine has extensive experience gained within the health service, including as a Consultant Psychiatrist and as Executive Director, Quality and Medical Leadership of the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
She is a Non-Executive Director of the Norfolk and University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a Chartered Director. Her knowledge of good corporate governance, together with experience of collective Board responsibility, achieved national recognition when she won the Health Service Journal Award for Board Leadership in 2014.
Completes term of office during 2025.
Hari Punchihewa
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Hari brings over 25 years’ senior director and board level experience gained within Daimler Benz Group, University of Derby, and the Action for Children charity. He is qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and a Chartered Banker and holds an MBA.
Hari attended the High Potential Leadership Programme at Harvard Business School, USA. In 2005 he achieved Chartered Director status, the most recognised qualification for Non-Executive Directors from the Institute of Directors (IoD) UK.
He has held number of Non-Executive Director positions and currently chairs the Audit and Risk committee at the Office for Legal Complaints, is a board member at Northamptonshire County Cricket and Oxford Business College. Hari is also Director at Look Ahead Group Ltd, Blythson Ltd and Kingswood Care Ltd. Alongside this, he serves as a Justice of Peace and a presiding Magistrate.
Executive directors
Richard Hill
Chief Executive
Richard joined bpha as CEO in May 2023. His passion for housing has seen him hold leadership roles in the sector for nearly 20 years. He joins bpha from One Housing, where he had been CEO for over five years and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Prior to this, Richard was CEO at Spectrum Housing and has held senior leadership roles at the Homes and Communities Agency and the Housing Corporation. Richard is also the non-executive Chair of drugs and alcohol rehabilitation charity, Phoenix Futures, and is a Board member at the Crafts Council.
Julian Pearce
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Astle
Executive Director of Development and Sales
As Executive Director of Development and Sales, Jeff has been with bpha for over six years and is responsible for the delivery of new build and regeneration programs between Oxford and Cambridge for social and affordable rented homes, shared ownership, outright sale and specialist housing. Jeff also has responsibility for bpha’s sales program of shared ownership and open market homes.
Jeff’s career has spanned private and affordable housing development and immediately prior to his role at bpha, he was a Development Director at a national Housing Association where his responsibilities included new business and regeneration, their private housing subsidiary and national sales programs.
Adrian Moore
Director of IT
Adrian has over 35 years’ experience working in Information Technology (IT), including 15 years in the strategic IT leadership roles of IT Director or Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
His experience includes both technical and strategic IT consultancy across the Mobile, Commercial, Education, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Local Government and Public sectors. Immediately prior to joining bpha, Adrian held the post of worldwide CTO, for a venture capital owned international education business.
Adrian is responsible for leading the digital transformation of bpha’s systems and processes to support our customer experience, and for keeping the organisation safe in a world beset with cyber security threats.
Anna Humphries
Director of Customers and Services
Anna joined bpha in July 2018 and has nearly 30 years’ experience in the social housing, support and care sectors.
Prior to joining bpha, Anna spent four years at The Abbeyfield Society as Divisional Director East. Before that, she worked for several other housing providers, managing their independent living, support and housing services for older people at a regional and national level.
Anna’s passion is to provide the best service for customers, ensuring they are listened to and treated as individuals. She is very supportive of the 2024 changes in consumer regulation and the benefits these will bring to customers across the sector.
Gosia Motler
Director of Strategy
Gosia joined bpha in August 2016 and has over 25 years’ experience in senior leadership roles across corporate finance, strategy development, change management and business transformation in the housing sector as well as global organisations in the telecoms and automotive industries.
Prior to bpha she spent 12 years at Wheatley Housing Group, one of the largest housing groups in the UK (> 100,000 homes), where she was working closely with the Board, Scottish Government and the regulator, leading on funding strategies, viability and financial aspects of five successful corporate acquisitions.
Gosia leads on corporate strategy, major projects including M&A, risk management, change programmes, business intelligence, health & safety and environmental sustainability for bpha.
Paul Cook
Director of Property Services and Compliance
Paul joined bpha in 2016 as Head of Property Services and has over 30 years in sector property management experience.
Prior to joining bpha, Paul was Head of Technical Services at Aldwyck Housing Group, a position he held since 2010. At bpha, he leads the Property Services and Compliance Directorate, which encompasses repairs and maintenance, asset compliance, capital investment and sustainability, asset strategy and project Vista, our tower block refurbishment programme.
Eddie Kelly
Director of Communications and External Affairs
Eddie brings a wealth of leadership experience in stakeholder engagement, PR, organisation culture, customer experience and brand from both the private and public sectors.
Leading on bpha’s communications, external affairs and brand, Eddie has worked both within and outside the housing sector in establishing company visions, bringing clarity on purpose, developing strategic priorities and defining values. Eddie has also worked in HR and sports’ journalism.
His housing experience includes five years as director of communications at Catalyst and over six years leading on communications and organisation culture at RHP. He led positive rebrands at both. As a customer experience consultant, he worked with organisations including the NHS, Aer Lingus, Habitat and Argos.
Eddie is a long suffering QPR supporter, football coach and a terrible martial artist.
Lindsay Todd
Director of People
Lindsay joined bpha in 2016 as Head of HR and was promoted to Director in 2020. She brings over 25 years experience as a senior HR professional, across a variety of sectors including retail, manufacturing, non-departmental public body and housing.
Her role at bpha leads on HR, Organisation Development, including Learning and Development, Employee Engagement and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, ensuring people and culture remain at the heart of bpha’s strategic people priorities and its social purpose.
Philippa Spratley
Director of Governance and Compliance
Philippa joined bpha in 2015 as Company Secretary. She has worked in roles across different sectors including previous roles within housing, logistics and recruitment. She is a qualified solicitor with over 20 years professional experience.