Board and Advisors
Our Board governs our organisation, setting direction and goals towards our core purpose. The parent board is supported by two group sub-committees;
Nominations & Remuneration and Risk & Audit.
We’re The Regenda Group. We work in places where we can make a difference. We operate across the housing and construction sector, in care and support, and in education training and careers.
©2021 – The Regenda Group
Regenda Limited (Chair), Centre 56 and Governance and Remuneration Committee
Lesley is the Chief Executive at PSS, a social enterprise that works across the UK supporting people to live happy, healthy and hopeful lives.
PSS supports people in their home-life and in their relationship with their family. Over the last century PSS developed some of the best known names in community support including Age Concern, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Legal Aid. Today Lesley’s team are continuing the legacy of innovation with a strong focus on encouraging people to choose their own support and retain their independence wherever possible. To make this a reality PSS provides a range of services which work across a wide spectrum of personal experience and need. PSS’ work reaches far and wide but across the organisation, at the heart, is a dedication to designing and providing dynamic services that are shaped not by finance, ease or tradition but by each person that uses them.
Lesley’s commitment to empowering people who need support goes beyond her role within PSS, Lesley is a trustee of the Furniture Resource Centre – one of the first social enterprises in the UK and was previously a vice-chair of Mind and was also a commissioner on the Liverpool Fairness Commission. Lesley was also a member of ACEVO’s Health and Social Care Special Interest Group.
Before joining PSS Lesley worked at the University of Leeds and in 2010 received an honorary doctorate for her contribution to the student experience. Lesley is also a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
Regenda Limited, Redwing, M&Y Maintenance and Construction, Centre 56, Petrus Community and the National Communities and Resource Centre (NCRC)
Michael joined Regenda as Group Chief Executive and member of the Board in March 2014. Prior to joining Regenda, he spent eight years as Chief Executive of The Calico Group and earlier in his career held senior roles at The Aspire Group and Liverpool Housing Action Trust.
Michael has held numerous Non-Executive Director roles and is currently the Chair of Plexus UK Limited (the Housing Association subsidiary of Mears Group PLC) and Chair of the Fabric District CIC that is focussed upon the regeneration of the London Road area of Liverpool City Centre. He is also a member of the Liverpool City Region Strategic Investment Panel.
Michael has a Doctorate from the University of Bristol and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Michael works with the Regenda Board to develop the Group’s Strategy. He is responsible for the attainment of the agreed strategic objectives, growth of the Group, day to day Group performance, leadership of staff and the development of external partnerships.
Regenda Limited, Redwing and Risk & Audit Committee
Tom is a highly experienced senior executive, a credible leader of businesses with a reputation for safe and ethical operations, inspirational leadership, commercial discipline and consistently delivering against financial targets.
Currently, as advisor and managing director, he is working with governments and blue-chip organisations around the world, spearheading major strategic opportunities, finding finance and delivery partners and bringing them together as a coherent whole.
Previously, an executive director for NuGen, Tom was leading the project directorate to transform the organisation into a project delivery focused business. As vice president for strategy and business development for Amec Foster Wheeler, he led the development of the global nuclear strategy and secured more than £1billion of contracts in joint ventures and partnerships around the globe.
Tom has supported the UK Government’s ambitious and challenging nuclear industrial strategy, serving as chair of the Nuclear Industry Council’s trade and investment group. Previously, he was a board member of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, a trustee of Cumbria Community Foundation, and has chaired various industry-focused bodies created to support and develop nuclear capability and scope throughout the supply chain.
A proactive advocate of the need for the energy and infrastructure sector to source and develop diverse talent to build capacity, Tom’s work has been instrumental in the development of strong and trusting relationships between governments, regulators, academic institutions, utilities and supply chains around the world.
Earlier in his career, he had experience working in the nuclear, oil and gas, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors with direct leadership accountability for delivering large-scale complex programmes. He holds a degree in engineering and an MBA from Warwick Business School. He is a recipient of the prestigious Wise Man of the Year award 2016.
Regenda Limited, Petrus Community (Chair), Centre 56 (Chair) and Risk & Audit Committee, Board representative on Resident Voice Panel and Member Responsible for Complaints
John’s academic background is in planning and he has had a lifelong career in social housing. He became qualified early in his career and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He has spent more than 37 years in the housing association sector, the bulk of which was with the Riverside Group from where he retired in April 2018. Much of that time was as a member of the Senior Management Team in a range of operational roles.
His experiences cover housing and asset management, community investment, development, low cost home ownership and stock transfers, as well as the wide range of responsibilities that go with corporate leadership in such a large, complex and diverse business as Riverside.
He has developed a strong balance of strategic vision along with a grasp for detail; an authentic leadership style focused on delivery, backed with a zeal for effective performance management; whilst at all times retaining an awareness of customer needs, expectations and challenges, and of the importance of having the customer voice heard.
Regenda Limited, NCRC and Governance and Remuneration Committee, Board representative on Resident Voice Panel
Margaret has worked within the voluntary sector for over 25 years. She was CEO of High Trees Community Development Trust in Lambeth for 10 years until 2019 when she left to start her own community development consultancy. She is currently a Co-CEO of ML Community Enterprise.
Margaret is a trustee for the National Communities Centre (Trafford Hall) and previously a member of the Steering Committee of Lambeth’s Black Thrive initiative which seeks to address systemic issues which contribute to poor mental health outcomes for individuals from black communities.
Margaret is a skilled and resourceful leader with extensive experience in organisational governance, development, coaching and training. Margaret’s passion and drive is to support people and communities to achieve their potential. Margaret is currently undertaking a Masters in Consulting and Leading in Organisations.
Regenda Limited, NCRC, Redwing (Chair) and Risk & Audit Committee.
Neil joined the Regenda Board in early 2022 and became a Regenda NED in November 2022 having previously worked as a trustee since early 2019 with the National Communities Resource Centre; now a wholly owned subsidiary of Regenda.
With over 30 years experience in the development and operation of conference and training centres in the UK and abroad Neil was an Operations Director of the UK’s largest conference centre operator; De Vere Venues. In this role for over a decade with responsibilities for budget delivery, quality and business development. His Client base encompassed commercial corporates such as IBM, HP, PwC, E&Y, Ericson, Tesco, BP and the Scottish Ambulance Service, academic organisations including Nottingham University, and charity sector organisations such as the WRVS and the Royal Society.
Neil was an Executive Director for over 10 years with the De Vere Group during which time the business grew organically, by acquisition and was ultimately sold.
Neil now works as an Independent Hotel and Venue Consultant advising owners and businesses largely on investment and repositioning opportunities. Recent projects include large hotel sites in Southampton and Portsmouth engaging with Marriott, Hilton, IHG and other International Franchisors to develop the most profitable product for the owner; a property developer.
As a Trustee at the NCRC Neil worked with colleagues to reposition the charity to a more financially stable operating model and develop a partnership with the Youth Hostel Association as the operator of Trafford Hall; the home of the NCRC
Regenda Limited, The Learning Foundry and Risk & Audit Committee (Chair)
Rob is a qualified chartered accountant with over 25 years experience in senior financial roles for both commercial and not for profit organisations. Most recently Rob was CFO at LTE Group, an education, training and skills group, which includes The Manchester College (delivering further and higher education for young people and adults in Greater Manchester), Novus (helping adults and young offenders in a prison setting nationally), and Total People (an apprenticeship provider in the North West).
Rob’s areas of expertise include financial assurance, strategic thinking, risk management and change, as well as operational finance matters such as budget, planning and forecasting.
Rob has held executive finance roles with the large national housing association The Guinness Partnership; a large work-based learning provider in the North West with national coverage; and a global exam testing organisation in the Europe and Middle East region. He has also recently been a non executive board member and Chair of Audit and Risk at a community focussed Manchester based housing association.
Regenda Limited and Governance and Remuneration Committee
Viren is an accomplished senior executive and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Regenda Group’s leadership team. With a distinguished career spanning over 40 years in a wide variety of industries, both public and private sector, Viren has consistently demonstrated a commitment to driving strategic growth, commercial development, and ensuring robust governance practices.
Viren is experienced in helping organisations to deliver major projects and business change programmes through his role as a consultant within independent supply chains.
Viren’s role within the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games helped to establish a new procurement division, which was responsible for obtaining several major contracts central to the event’s success and delivery.
At Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Viren led the successful procurement of the new waste management contract, valued at over £1billion.
Viren’s diverse industry experience includes; Transport, Construction, Oil, FMCG, Food, Retail and Chemicals, operating at Board level. Viren holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the Open Business School. He is also a Chartered Chemical Engineer, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
The experiences and knowledge that Viren offers from a wide range of sectors, provides invaluable support to the Regenda Group leadership team in achieving the Group’s goals.
Regenda Limited and Risk & Audit Committee
Sue, is a qualified accountant, and has worked in a variety of senior financial and strategic roles across the private, public and not for profit sectors. These roles have been for a range of organisations such as Merrill Lynch and British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.
Although Sue’s focus over the past 15 years has been in the charity sector including health and social care, homelessness and arts organisations. Most recently she was CEO of Autism Together, a social care organisation supporting adults with autism based in the Wirral.
Sue’s areas of expertise include financial management, leadership, strategic development, risk and change management. Through her consultancy practice Sue is currently supporting organisations in many of these areas.
Sue’s motivation and passion is to tackle inequality and support people to achieve their full potential.
Regenda Limited, Redwing, Governance and Remuneration Committee (Chair), Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Champion.
Sarah has over 25 years’ experience of working in advisory and leadership roles across a wide range of sectors, including a 10-year career in audit and corporate finance at a global professional services firm. She has also held leadership roles within a high-growth private-equity backed technology business and has worked with several specialist advisors within the housing sector, providing governance, strategy and Board development support.
As a Chartered Accountant and qualified Executive Coach, Sarah combines commercial rigour and strong analytical skills with a focus on developing our people and ensuring that we create a strong and inclusive culture. Sarah currently runs her own Executive Coaching business providing support to senior leaders and their teams.
Sarah is also an experienced Non-Executive. Prior to joining the Board of the Regenda Group in September 2023, Sarah was a Board Member at Calico Group, where she also chaired the Audit and Assurance Committee. She is also currently the Chair of Fairoak Housing, a supported housing provider who provide safe and comfortable homes for adults with learning disabilities across Cumbria and the North East.
Regenda Limited and Risk & Audit Committee
Graham is a Chartered Surveyor and is Director of Commercial Management and Delivery at Cheshire West and Chester Council. He is responsible for the management of the council’s major contracts (including its housing management contract), its extensive property portfolio, as well as the delivery of its major projects. This includes the delivery of the Chester Northgate scheme, a £72m mixed use development recently completed in the heart of Chester.
Graham has a broad range of board experience and was a Director of CWR, the Council’s waste collection service provider. Until recently, he was also a Non-Executive Director of South Liverpool Homes. He is a strategic thinker and a strong advocate for tenant engagement and continuous improvement.
Previously, Graham worked closely with the NHS and was Chief Executive of both Liverpool and Sefton Health Partnerships and Renova Developments, two of the most successful NHS LIFT companies in the country. Between them, the two companies delivered over £350m of investment in new primary, community and mental health facilities across Merseyside.
Graham has extensive experience in commercial property development and regeneration, having led successful projects across Liverpool working with Liverpool City Council, English Partnerships and the North West Development Agency. Most notably in south Liverpool as part of the Speke Garston regeneration which delivered over £1bn of both public and private sector investment.
Graham has been involved in new and innovative models of delivery to address issues faced by the public sector and earlier in his career he was involved in some of the first healthcare PFI schemes leading bids and managing pre contract delivery for WS Atkins.
Regenda Limited Board Advisor
Stephen has worked for over 25 years delivering Net Zero Carbon (NZC), climate risk and decarbonisation strategy, energy optimisation, insight, guidance and delivery to a wide range of organisations in the built environment and beyond.
With a vast amount of experience in delivering Net Zero Carbon design, strategy and implementation, he has worked with clients such as EasyJet, Volkswagen, European Commission, US Department of Energy, UK Department for Transport, Welsh Assembly Government, KFC, Royal Mail Group, Olympic Delivery Authority and ABInbev. He has also worked for some of the world’s leading consultancies including KPMG, EY, Ricardo, Arup and the European Commission for clients in the UK, US, Europe and China.
He currently works as an academic in the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool and is Managing Director of a private consultancy named Arete Zero Carbon. Stephen is highly experienced and qualified Board Advisor, his qualifications include: BSc, MRes, PhD, FHEA, CEnv, CSci, CMILT, PGCertHE, MIHT, MIEnvSci, AMIHIE.
Regenda Limited, Centre 56, Nominations & Remuneration Committee (Chair)
Joanna is a FTSE 250 leader with a wealth of knowledge holding senior roles in both Aviation and Retail sectors. Currently Joanna mixes consultancy with non-executive roles. She specialises in delivering profit growth, operational efficiencies and customer excellence. Her experience within B2C organisations includes being a Managing Director overseeing a Retail division of 1200 stores and 8000 personnel.
Regenda Limited and M&Y Maintenance and Construction (Chair)
Caroline started her career in finance at Ernst and Young where she qualified as an accountant. Since qualifying she has spent the last 22 years in finance roles with such firms as Bardsley Construction Group and Knight Knox Limited. Firstly, at Ernst & Young she continued to travel with the firm within their technical and audit departments in Africa. On returning to the UK she moved into the retail sector and has subsequently held several executive board level appointments in the construction, property and real estate sectors over the last 14 years.
Caroline has significant experience in small and medium sized owner managed businesses and has held board appointments in regional construction businesses which have tripled in size during her tenure. She understands the importance of strategic planning within these fast-paced environments and is commercially focused.
Caroline is currently the finance director for a property investment business specialising in residential buy to let property.
Caroline is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Regenda Limited, Redwing, M&Y Maintenance & Construction and Risk & Audit Committee
With more than 36 years working in the construction and engineering sector, Stewart has worked with national and international contracting businesses, including 10 years of commercial management in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
In the UK he has held several Board level appointments including Managing Director in a number of private and public-quoted construction companies, operating both regionally and nationally, with sales of >£750m per annum.
He has extensive practical knowledge of all current forms of construction procurement including PPP/ PFI, Partnering and Frameworks, Design and Build, Design and Build Operate and Transfer and Performance Based Contracting.
He now runs a consultancy advising business on how to best tender into the public sector. His sector expertise includes engaging with Public organisations and includes the Housing and Communities Agency, Ministry of Defence UK, NHS, Ministry of Justice, The Education Funding Agency, Local Authorities and Universities.
Regenda Limited (Chair), Redwing (Chair), Nominations & Remuneration Committee
Cath is a qualified solicitor, with over 25 years experience of working with public and private sector entities across a diverse range of sectors and projects.
After leaving the legal profession in 1995, she worked as a Director at KPMG Corporate Finance until 2003 when she joined Ernst & Young, to head their Northern Infrastructure team. At the beginning of 2010, Cath set up her independent consulting business, where she continues to provide services to public sector institutions and private sector entities on infrastructure and project finance initiatives, joint ventures, reorganisations and operational efficiencies, project feasibility and appraisal. Cath is also a non-executive director at the Eric Wright Group.