Executive team

Gary has been our Group Chief Executive since 2009 and has 35 years’ experience in the social housing sector.

Gary is well connected and highly regarded across the sector and as such holds a number of senior posts on external bodies. These currently include: chair of the National Housing Federation West Midlands Regional Committee, board member of PlaceShapers and board member of the West Midlands Housing Association Partnership.

He has a personal affinity with Walsall, being from the borough, and is a business ambassador for Acorns Children’s Hospice, which has a base in the town.

Gary is a lifelong Wolves FC fan and a keen traveller, both throughout the UK and further afield, including fundraising trips to Nepal.

We welcomed Dawn onto our group executive team in 2021 and soon felt the benefit of her 23 years’ experience in the housing sector.

She has an impressively rounded knowledge of the central services needed to support a high performing housing association. This is due to previous senior roles overseeing teams from procurement to PR and communications and, of course governance.

Here, Dawn’s remit comprises governance including board and committee support, compliance, legal services, health and safety and risk management.

Dawn is chair of governors at a Walsall school and a member of the governing body at another. She is learning calligraphy in the little spare time she has.

Rebecca brought more than 25 years’ experience of affordable housing development when she joined us in 2018.

Armed with a housing and development degree, Rebecca began her career honing her technical specialism in development management within the housing association sector with Bromford Group. She went onto work for large private sector construction and engineering organisations, including Arcadis and Balfour Beatty, and later founded her own small consultancy providing coaching and residential services.

Rebecca sets our development strategy and leads her commercial and technical teams in its delivery. Her portfolio includes regeneration, new business and partnerships, construction, programme management (new supply) and sales & marketing.

She is passionate about creating resilient and sustainable communities, about partnership working and the power of collaboration.

Rebecca spends time outside of work enjoying adventures with her family.

Fay joined our group executive team in 2017 with 18 years’ housing management experience already under her belt.

She has a diverse portfolio from housing to IT, customer service and health and wellbeing. Fay oversees our ongoing digital transformation programme; an organisational-wide agenda that touches every part of our work.

Fay has championed innovative solutions to longstanding problems, not least rough sleeping and homelessness and tackling health inequalities in partnership with the health sector. She is the ‘responsible person’ who ensures that whg is complying with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, ensuring that we deliver good quality customer service and driving culture change where it is needed.

Fay began her career as a housing officer before holding senior positions at several Midlands-based providers. She is an expert and empathetic practitioner who puts the customer at the heart of everything she and her teams do.

Fay loves the great outdoors and enjoys walks and horse riding.

Lisa joined whg’s Executive Team in July 2022 with 25 years’ experience across varying sectors including the NHS, Construction and Financial Services.

Lisa provides leadership support and HR operational guidance to the People and Learning & Development Team, EDI Colleagues and Facilities management, ensuring that we recruit and support colleagues via learning and development experiences. Lisa is passionate about inclusion for all ensuring that we listen to the experiences of our colleagues and use the learning to develop improved people services.

Throughout Lisa’s career she has influenced organisations through organisational design and development ensuring they continue to develop and grow their colleagues in preparedness for the workforces of the future. Lisa was a successful winner of the East Midlands Chamber Award – Success Through People.

Lisa is a keen triathlete, enjoys walking with her two miniature schnauzers (Coco and Evie) as well as holidaying overseas, where Lisa also enjoys scuba diving.