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Housing Moves: our round-up of senior sector appointments in February 2026
Inside Housing’s monthly round-up of top-level housing sector appointments details the main moves in February 2026
Housing Moves compiles all the senior housing appointments in one place every month.
To tell us about your appointments, email gene.robertson@insidehousing.co.uk
Housing association and council moves
Ian Joynson has taken over as chief executive of West Kent Housing Association, following the retirement of Tracy Allison. Mr Joynson was previously chief investment officer at Platform Housing Group.
Maria Lyle has been appointed chief executive of Scottish Borders Housing Association. She will take over from Julia Molloy in May. It is a promotion for Ms Lyle, who has served as chief operating officer since 2021 and has worked at the association since 2005.
The West Midlands Combined Authority has confirmed Ed Cox as its chief executive. He has led the organisation in an interim capacity since June 2025, and was previously deputy chief executive.
Watford Community Housing has hired Paul Harris as executive director of operations. He will also become executive director of operations designate for the proposed organisation following the merger with Thrive Homes. Mr Harris joins from Curo, where he was chief customer officer. He replaces Peter Cogan, who is leaving to be chief executive of Red Kite Community Housing.
GreenSquareAccord has appointed Billy Sutch as chief property officer, taking over from interim chief property officer Peter Evans. Mr Sutch will join from student accommodation provider UPP, where he is executive director of operations (residential services).
Magenta Living has hired Natasha Hazlewood as people director. She previously served as people and culture director at University Campus of Football Business.
Greer Wilson has joined Radius Housing as director of care and support. He previously served as director of care and development for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man at Praxis Care.
Trust Housing Association has promoted Ian Davie to director of assets and sustainability. He will take up the role as Jackie McIntosh steps into the chief executive position following the retirement of Rhona McLeod. Mr Davie is currently head of development and asset strategy.
Gerraint Oakley, chief growth and development officer at Platform Housing Group, has joined the board of Accent. Mr Oakley, who holds non-executive roles at Community Housing Cymru and Ongo, will also sit on Accent’s capital investment committee.
Julie Blair, executive director of corporate services at Look Ahead, has been appointed vice-chair of Wandle. She joined the board in 2023 and currently serves as chair of the people committee.
Norfolk and Suffolk Housing Partnership has appointed James Francis, chief executive of Saffron Housing Trust, as its chair. This is a newly launched collaboration between housing providers and local authorities across the region.
Other moves
Outgoing housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway has been revealed as the preferred candidate to chair the Office for Legal Complaints. Subject to an appearance before the Justice Committee in March, he will then succeed incumbent chair Elisabeth Davies, whose term ends on 31 March 2026. This non-executive role will not replace Mr Blakeway’s housing ombudsman position, from which he will step down in July.
Marsha Blake has been appointed chief executive of youth homelessness charity St Basils. She succeeds Jean Templeton, who is stepping down after 26 years in the role. Ms Blake has been with the organisation since 1999, most recently as director of progression (prevention, support and care).
Dr Kion Ahadi has been appointed chief executive of the Leasehold Advisory Service. He joins from legal technology platform LegaMart, where he was chief executive.
James Lidgate will be the new group development director at Vistry and will be part of its executive leadership team. He joins the developer from Taylor Wimpey, where he most recently served as managing director.
The New Homes Quality Board has announced Natasha Greenwood as director of shared ownership, to lead engagement with the affordable housing sector on adoption of the Shared Ownership Code. Ms Greenwood previously spent 11 years at Sovereign and Sovereign Network Group, including as head of homeownership.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has hired Paul Bradley to lead policy, public affairs and communications. He will join in April from the University of Glasgow, where he is head of government relations.
Winckworth Sherwood has appointed Shazia Bashir as a partner in its social housing team. She joins from TLT, where she was a partner in the firm’s housing and regeneration team.
Midlands-based developer MORRO Partnerships has appointed Vinay Vadgama as land director. Mr Vadgama has held roles at Keepmoat and Lovell Partnerships, and most recently was senior land and partnerships manager at United Living New Homes.
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