Who we are
Our Group Executive Team handles our day-to-day management, under the direction of the Clarion Housing Group Board. It also ensures we have the resources to achieve our goals.
Group Chief Executive Clare Miller leads the team – which has equal representation of men and women.
We measure our performance against budgets, value for money and other quality indicators. The Regulator of Social Housing has given us ratings of G1/V2 for governance and financial viability. This reflects the strength of our management and leadership.
Group Executive team
Clare Miller
Group Chief Executive
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Clare has been our Group Chief Executive since 2018. She is a chartered accountant with almost 30 years’ experience in the housing sector. Clare joined the Housing Corporation in 1992 as a financial regulator. Over the next 18 years, she progressed to become its Director of Regulation.
She then became an Executive Director at the Tenant Services Authority, with responsibility for housing association regulation. In 2010, Clare joined Affinity Sutton as Group Director of Governance and Compliance. She took up the same role at Clarion in 2016, before taking on her current role two years later.
Mark Hattersley
Chief Finance Officer
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“Being a financially strong organisation underpins everything we do. It means we’re resilient and can continue to fulfil our purpose, as well as progress and deliver on our ambitions.”
About Mark
As well as being Chief Financial Officer, Mark is Chair of our investment committee.
He’s a chartered accountant and previous roles include:
- Chief Financial Officer, Sovereign Housing Association
- Director of Finance & Infrastructure, Staffordshire University
- Finance Director, Birmingham International Airport
Richard Cook
Chief Development Officer
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“In order to build communities and places that thrive, housing associations should embrace the opportunity of becoming a master developer. As a master developer, we can shape places that work for our residents, and communities that succeed over the long term.”
About Richard
Richard leads our development business and is responsible for the group’s sustainability strategy.
He joined Clarion in February 2019 from Lendlease where he was head of residential, delivering over a thousand new homes each year. He also played a key role in the delivery of the London 2012 Athletes’ Village while at Lendlease. He has more than 25 years of experience in the property sector having previously worked at companies including Mace and Taylor Wimpey.
Rob Lane
Chief Property Officer
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“The Certified Sustainable Housing Label highlights our sustainability credentials and attracts investors who want to make a bigger impact above and beyond the bottom line.”
About Rob
Rob leads the Property Directorate and has responsibility for repairs, maintenance, property services, investment and long term asset strategy for our 125,000 homes. He led the creation of Clarion’s 2050 Asset Strategy which involves a major programme of investment to sustainably upgrade its properties, based on a set of housing targets it has developed. Rob also has responsibility for Grange (our property management subsidiary), our commercial & investment properties and House Exchange.
Rob is a qualified accountant, with a career that has included senior finance roles in major commercial organisations such as the Domino’s Pizza Group and Network Rail Property.
Michelle Reynolds
Chief Customer Officer
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“I want Clarion to be known for the quality of our offer to residents and for creating desirable communities across the country.”
About Michelle
Michelle’s responsibilities include:
- delivering a consistently good quality, comprehensive service for all Clarion customers
- ensuring that customers remain at the heart of our business
- improving the customer experience
- representing the voice of our customers.
She is also Executive lead for Clarion Futures, Clarion’s charitable foundation.
Michelle has more than 30 years’ experience in the housing sector. Her past roles include:
- Chief Operating Officer, Clarion Housing Group
- Group Director for Commercial Services, Clarion Housing Group
- Executive Director and Director-level roles at Affinity Sutton and Ridgehill Housing Association
- Senior roles at William Sutton Housing Association
- Chief Executive of Aashyana, an Asian-led housing association in the South West.
Catrin Jones
Chief People Officer
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“We are a responsible organisation and my teams are committed to making sure we uphold the highest standards – for our residents, our staff and our partners.”
About Catrin
Catrin has responsibility for corporate services ranging from HR and health and safety to internal audits and governance.
She originally joined Affinity Sutton as director of customer services having held a number of senior customer service roles in various sectors. After the formation of Clarion, she was appointed director of business transition before progressing to her current role.
Catherine Thomas
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
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“It’s really important for me that we use our scale and expertise to help improve lives and lead our sector to achieve positive impacts.”
About Catherine
Catherine leads our work to influence government policy and create positive change in the housing sector. Prior to joining Clarion in February 2020, Catherine held senior marketing and communications roles in real estate and retail. Her skills in placemaking and destination marketing were honed at Land Securities, where she led the communications team for Victoria SW1, including Nova, the highly successful mixed-use complex. She has also worked on major European and Middle Eastern real estate projects.
Louise Hyde
Group Director of Governance and Corporate Compliance
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“Sound governance is fundamental for the success and longevity of our organisation – which is why I am so passionate about it.”
About Louise
A Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute of the UK, Louise has over 25 years of experience in the housing sector. She is Group Governance and Corporate Compliance Director, overseeing Governance & Compliance, Land & Deeds, Legal and Data Protection Teams. She also supports the non-executives who serve on our boards and committees.
Louise joined Affinity Sutton in 2012 as Head of Governance, then became Director of Governance for Clarion and in 2018 became Clarion’s Company Secretary.
Before joining Affinity Sutton, Louise worked for the Tenants Services Authority and the Housing Corporation in various roles including Regulatory Assurance Manager, Head of Governance Policy, Head of Registry & Consents and Lead Regulator.
Group Board members
Jock Lennox
Group Chair
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Jock spent 30 years with Ernst & Young, holding a number of leadership positions in the UK and globally, including 20 years as a partner.
He is currently Chairman of Johnson Service Group PLC and is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for Barratt Developments PLC.
Jock was previously Chairman of Enquest PLC and Hill & Smith Holdings PLC, and he has also served on the boards of Dixons Carphone PLC, Oxford Instruments PLC and A&J Mucklow Group PLC.
David Orr CBE
Chair of the Clarion Housing Association Board
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David is a former Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation. He has spent more than 35 years in the housing sector, in a career that has included roles as:
- Chief Executive, Newlon Homes
- President, Housing Europe
- Chief Executive, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
- Associate Director, Homes at the Centre for Ageing Better
- Chair of Reall, an international development housing charity
- Member, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Housing, Church and Community Commission.
David’s current roles include:
- Chair, Canal and River Trust
- Chair of both ReSI Housing and ReSI Homes
- Board member, Clanmil Housing Group
- Board member, National Communities Resource Centre.
Richard Cook
Chief Development Officer
Read more
“In order to build communities and places that thrive, housing associations should embrace the opportunity of becoming a master developer. As a master developer, we can shape places that work for our residents, and communities that succeed over the long term.”
About Richard
Richard leads our development business and is responsible for the group’s sustainability strategy.
He joined Clarion in February 2019 from Lendlease where he was head of residential, delivering over a thousand new homes each year. He also played a key role in the delivery of the London 2012 Athletes’ Village while at Lendlease. He has more than 25 years of experience in the property sector having previously worked at companies including Mace and Taylor Wimpey.
Rob Lane
Chief Property Officer
Read more
“The Certified Sustainable Housing Label highlights our sustainability credentials and attracts investors who want to make a bigger impact above and beyond the bottom line.”
About Rob
Rob leads the Property Directorate and has responsibility for repairs, maintenance, property services, investment and long term asset strategy for our 125,000 homes. He led the creation of Clarion’s 2050 Asset Strategy which involves a major programme of investment to sustainably upgrade its properties, based on a set of housing targets it has developed. Rob also has responsibility for Grange (our property management subsidiary), our commercial & investment properties and House Exchange.
Rob is a qualified accountant, with a career that has included senior finance roles in major commercial organisations such as the Domino’s Pizza Group and Network Rail Property.
Amanda Metcalfe
Non-Executive Director
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Amanda is currently the Marketing Director at Canary Wharf Group, the developer of the largest urban regeneration project in Europe. Prior to this she was Place, Brand and Marketing Director at the Crown Estate, a £14.3bn UK real estate business, and a former UK Marketing Director at Ebay Inc. She has spent more than 25 years in marketing, having held a range of digital and consumer roles during her career to date. Amanda is a trustee of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
Previous posts include:
- Digital Marketing Director at Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc
- Head of Customer Management at Debenhams
- Group Head of Research at Laura Ashley
- Research Manager at Selfridges.
Clare Miller
Group Chief Executive
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Clare was appointed as our Group Chief Executive in 2018. A chartered accountant, with almost 30 years’ experience in the housing sector, Clare joined the Housing Corporation in 1992 as a financial regulator and over the next 18 years progressed to become its Director of Regulation.
She then became an Executive Director at the Tenant Services Authority, with responsibility for housing association regulation. In 2010 Clare joined Affinity Sutton as Group Director of Governance and Compliance. She took up the same role at Clarion in 2016, before taking on her current role two years later.
Doris Olulode
Vice Chair of Group Board
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Doris is currently a freelance HR consultant. She has extensive global human resources experience gained in a career at Ford Motor Company. This included being she was Ford’s HR Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Doris also led the African Ancestry Network at Ford, and Autocar named her as one of the top 100 most influential women in the auto industry.
She also serves on Clarion’s Housing Association Board and is a Non-Executive Director at:
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
Doris is also a Lay Member to HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Graham Farrant
Non-Executive Director
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Graham is the Chief Executive of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. He has a track record in leading both public and private sector organisations, with a background in housing and local government.
He has held CEO roles at:
- London Borough of Barking & Dagenham
- Brentwood Council
- HM Land Registry
- Leisure Connection
- pmpgenesis, a sport and leisure consultancy
- Thurrock Council
Graham has also worked in environmental health, housing and regeneration in local government.
Heike Munro
Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Treasury Committee and Member of the Audit and Risk Committee
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Heike is a financial expert and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She holds certificates in risk management, board performance and sustainability.
Heike has over three decades of finance experience having held senior roles covering corporate and leverage finance, HY, government debt and other capital structure-related aspects at some of the world’s leading international investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Rothschild, before becoming Managing Director and Partner at global consulting firm Alix Partners as Co-Head Lead Financial Advisory Europe.
Her previous non-executive director roles included Mencap Trust and she is currently a Non-Executive Director at universal bank OLB AG, where she is also Chair of the Audit Committee.
Jeremy Newman
Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
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Jeremy currently has a portfolio of board level roles in the public, not for profit and private sectors, including as a Panel Member for the Competition and Markets Authority, Senior Non-Executive Director of Open Banking Limited and Chair of the Workforce Development Trust. Jeremy also recently led a review of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.
During his career Jeremy has held various roles with BDO, including Global Chief Executive Officer and Managing UK Partner. He was also Chair of the Audit Commission and of the Single Source Regulations Office.
Jeremy is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Lord Barwell
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Clarion Futures Board
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Lord Barwell is a former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May, and Minister for Housing, during a political career spanning more than 20 years. He was the Member of Parliament for Croydon Central from 2010 to 2017. Before that he had been a Councillor for the London Borough of Croydon for 12 years. Besides his roles on the Clarion Housing Group and Clarion Futures Boards, Lord Barwell is an adviser to:
- Arcadis
- Avonhurst
- Barratt Developments plc
- Community Fibre
- DLA Piper
- PwC
Mark Hattersley
Chief Finance Officer and Chair of the Investment Committee
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As well as being Chief Financial Officer, Mark is Chair of our Investment Committee. He is a chartered accountant and his previous roles include:
- Chief Financial Officer, Sovereign Housing Association
- Director of Finance & Infrastructure, Staffordshire University
- Finance Director, Birmingham International Airport
Rachel Fletcher
Non-Executive Director
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Rachel is a regulatory expert and Octopus Energy’s Director for Regulation and Economics.
She was Chief Executive of Ofwat and held senior positions including at board level in Ofgem. Before that, Rachel worked as an energy strategy and policy consultant, having started her career in international development.
Rupert Sebag-Montefiore
Non Executive Director and Chair of Latimer Developments
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Rupert was on the Savills plc Main Board, followed by the Group Executive Board for 21 years. He became CEO of Savills UK Subsidiary which employed 2,000 people across 75 offices. Following that he was Head of Global Residential, growing the network to over 600 offices.
Previous Non-Executive Director (NED) roles have included Chairing a leading property web portal, a marketing company during flotation on AIM, and Bournemouth University. He now sits on some external Investment Committees, including Winchester College, and has a number of NED appointments including Pigeon Land Limited, a Development company, and On The Market, a property portal on AIM.
Clarion is not about making profits or holding onto money, we exist to invest in communities and provide affordable housing.
Clare Miller, Group Chief Executive
Join our team
Chief Customer Officer
We are now looking for a new Chief Customer Officer to join our executive group. It has never been a more exciting time to join Clarion. We are working hard to build an organisation fit for the future that will set us up to deliver our mission: to provide and maintain homes for those that need them most.