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London housing association appoints new chief executive
A 4,500-home London housing association has appointed the former interim boss of a west London ALMO as its new chief executive.
Sandra Skeete was named as the new chief executive of Octavia Housing today, she will take over in September this year, succeeding Grahame Hindes, who will retire after 18 years.
Ms Skeete was previously interim managing director at CityWest Homes, the ALMO for Westminster City Council, from May 2018. Westminster announced that it would bring the management organisation in house in September.
She has previously held senior roles including executive director of housing at Peabody, a position she held for nine years from 2007 to 2016.
She was also previously chief executive of Refugee Housing Association, and is a board member at One Housing Group and the Duke of Lancaster Housing Trust.
Ms Skeete said: “Octavia is an organisation with a long history of consistently delivering its social purpose. I am looking forward to helping take the organisation on to its next phase – building more homes and helping more local people.”
Sandeep Katwala, chair of Octavia, added: “With affordable housing as the most pressing policy issue facing London, we are absolutely delighted and excited that Sandra has agreed to lead the organisation. The board members, staff and residents who were involved in the selection process were all impressed by her strong mix of experience and commitment to our purpose.”
Based in Kensington and operating across inner London, Octavia was formed by the Victorian social reformer Octavia Hill more than 150 years ago.
In 2017/18 it turned over £66.4m, producing a surplus of £11.5m and has a top level G1/V1 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing for its governance and viability.
