Meet the team

Directors

Kate Smith

Chief Executive

Kate has a wealth of experience gained from 15 years at executive level in the social housing sector, with organisations of scale, complexity and ambition. Before joining Connexus Kate worked for national housing and care provider Anchor, where she was group executive director of business services for five years.

Kate has held executive leadership positions at Southern Housing and bpha, as well as a number of non-executive positions.

Andrew Cooke

Director of Resources

Andrew brings with him vast previous experience within the sector, including being the Executive Director of a midlands based housing, care and support organisation.

Sara Woodall

Director of Customer Experience

Sara is a highly-motivated, dedicated and experienced customer service, repairs & maintenance, housing, asset management and community engagement professional with a track record of delivering excellent services. Sara has worked in the housing and social care sector for more than 30 years with almost 22 years skills, knowledge and experience at Director level including more than four years at CEO level within a complex Group structure.

She has managed and motivated teams in all disciplines: across housing management, customer care, customer engagement, asset management, DLO’s & repairs, community development, care & support services and health & well-being.

Fleur Whittingham

Director of Property

Fleur is passionate about social housing, with a particular focus on ensuring customers are safe and feel safe in their homes. In a career spanning 20 years in housing, she is proud to have worked with colleagues and organisations across the sector, to collectively drive-up safety standards. Fleur has been instrumental in driving up safety standards across the industry.

Fleur is leading the transformation of services through innovation and the integration of new technologies, Fleur is committed to enhancing the customer journey and ensuring that individuals feel safe and supported in their homes.

Bobby Mulheir

Int Director of Transformation

Our Board Members

Michele Ibbs

Chair

Michele has a track record of delivering growth and change in private, public and not-for-profit organisations and in diverse sectors - food and drink, luxury consumer goods and higher education. As a leader with professional background in marketing, she is focused on customers being at the heart of a successful business.

She is an experienced non-executive director having been Senior Independent Director and Chair of Nominations and Remuneration Board Committees at The Marsden Building Society; Non-Executive Director and Chair of Finance and Performance Committee with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Non-Executive Director of The Ombudsman Service Limited (now Trust Alliance Group). She is currently a Non-Executive Director and Shareholder Representative on the Board of the Cambridge and Counties Bank Limited.

As Chair, Michele is responsible for the leadership of the board and committees, ensuring oversight of corporate governance and assurance. She supports the Chief Executive and the Executive Management Team to determine the organisation's strategic direction and delivery of agreed corporate priorities.

Andrew Battrum

Board Member

Andrew was the Finance Director of Bromford Housing Group, for 17 years retiring in 2016. His experience at Bromford provides him with a good insight into the social housing sector and equips him with an understanding of the locality.

In addition to his financial management and treasury expertise, he brings strong analytical skills and an ability to move easily between the bigger picture and detailed thinking. He has experienced different ways of working at Bromford, which has broadened his thinking both in terms of organisational and Board operations.

Paul Smith

Board Member

Paul is the Chief Executive of Elim Housing Group, Trustee of the Andrews Charitable Trust and a member of the Advisory Panel for the Housing Ombudsman. Paul has also served as the Chief Executive of two national charities, the Furniture Re-use Network and Housing Potential (the skills agency for housing). Paul is also a social historian and has recently published his first local history book.

Paul is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Simon Ewins

Board Member

Simon is the Managing Director of Whitbread Plc Hotels and Restaurants, overseeing the day to day running of 1,300 operations and a team of 35,000 people, delivering in excess of £2.5bn annual turnover.

His strengths centre on leading complex and scale operations, transformational change, and rapid organisational growth. This through a lens of sustainable 21st century leadership.

His life experiences, combined with family ties to Shropshire and Herefordshire, have given Simon a real passion for the Connexus journey.

Abigail Reilly

Board Member

Abigail comes from a military background and has fifteen years’ experience at senior management level within Social Housing. This includes three years as Executive Director responsible for a wide portfolio including Organisational Development, HR, Governance, ICT, Communications, Project Management, Facilities, Fleet Management and Corporate Strategy, Performance and Planning.

Abigail is a Business Psychologist and Fellow of the CIPD and has a particular interest in organisational culture. She is currently the Director of Organisational Effectiveness and Development at Oxford Brookes University.

Nicola de Iongh

Senior Independent Director & BM

Nicola is passionate about social transformation, and in particular the systemic relationship between education, health and housing.

As Chair of Council at the University of Gloucestershire, she is an advocate for education as a means of transforming people’s lives so that they can make the world a better place, and for the civic role the University plays in its community. She is a champion for the University’s pioneering approach to Sustainability. She is currently Vice Chair of the UK’s University Chairs representative body, the CUC, becoming Chair in June 2024.

Nicola sits on the Board of the Gloucestershire Health and Care Foundation Trust.

In the private sector, Nicola chairs the Reference Committee for the Premier Miton UK Responsible Investment Fund, with a remit to advise on the fund’s investment policy and scrutinise investment decisions from the perspective of sustainability and ethics.

Previously, Nicola worked in the financial services sector as a global change lead. She also spent several years working as a freelance management consultant majoring in complex, strategic change across different sectors, both in the UK and internationally.

Imran Patel

Board Member

Imran is an experienced director in the telecoms sector with extensive experience driving results in large scale leadership roles, with a track record improving customer experience, transforming operations, and increasing employee engagement. He has experience in collaborating with executives to successfully lead strategic change initiatives and new business ventures. Imran recently moved into an executive role as Group Director of Customer Experience at Yorkshire Water.

He joined Connexus as a Co-optee to the Customer Services and Enterprise and Development Committees in November 2020 before the Board in November 2021.

Simon Gibbs

Board Member

Simon has Board experience of both public and private companies across sectors including Property, Retail, and Media. He has executive experience over 25 years as a CEO/MD. He is a Chartered Accountant with investment banking experience and has specialist knowledge in both Treasury Management and Property Development, most recently through his role at Curo as Executive Director – Finance and Strategy.

Simon has commercial expertise to drive growth within a housing building context. He has experience, understanding and an appreciation of the social housing sector bringing something different given his blended professional profile.