The latest Douglas Jackson Housing Leadership Index reviewed senior leadership movement across Housing Associations during Q2 and H1 2026.

At first glance, many of the appointments might appear unrelated. New CEOs, Customer leaders, Governance appointments, Transformation roles, Housing Operations leaders and Board appointments.

Look a little closer, however, and a different picture emerges.

The most noticeable trend is not the emergence of a new function. It is the growing combination of responsibilities that previously sat in separate leadership roles.

Our Q2 review identified 52 unique Housing leadership moves. Executive / CEO / COO appointments and Board, Chair and NED appointments were the two largest visible categories, each accounting for 11 moves. Transformation, Technology, Data and Change represented a further seven appointments, while Customer, Housing and Neighbourhood leadership accounted for six.

Several appointments illustrate this shift.

At Westward Housing Group, Louise Jones was promoted into the newly created role of Chief Customer and Communities Officer. Dave Lockerman joined Eastlight in a newly created Chief Customer Officer role, while Genette Pinwill was appointed Executive Director of Customer Experience at Golding Homes.

These are not simply customer appointments. They reflect broader accountability for customer outcomes, communities, service delivery and organisational performance.

The same pattern appears elsewhere.

At Orbit, Neil Laird joined as Technology and Data Director. At Clarion Housing, Lisa Buckingham holds responsibility for Digital and Transformation. Technology, Data and Change are increasingly appearing within wider leadership structures rather than as isolated functional appointments.

Governance is showing a similar evolution.

Iain Turner joined Gloucester City Homes as Director of Governance, Risk and Assurance, while Asantewaa Brenya became Executive Director of Governance, Risk and Performance at Ocean Housing. Governance increasingly sits alongside performance, risk, assurance and decision-making rather than existing solely as an oversight function.

Operations also reinforces the same point.

Amy Cheswick joined Salvation Army Homes as Executive Director of Operations after previously holding responsibility for Customer and Transformation at MHS Homes. Julia Prichard was promoted from Chief Tenant Officer to Chief Operating Officer at Saffron Housing Trust. Both moves illustrate how operational leadership is increasingly drawing together customer, service and broader organisational accountability.

This matters because Housing Associations continue to balance tenant expectations, customer outcomes, asset performance, regulation, financial resilience, technology investment and organisational change simultaneously.

The question is no longer simply whether a leader has held a similar title before.

It is whether they can operate across multiple areas of accountability, influence decisions beyond their direct remit and connect functions that may previously have worked in isolation.

As one CEO recently said:

“If the sector is not particularly good in Transformation, why would I look to the sector for these capabilities?”

It is a provocative thought, but it speaks to a broader challenge facing Housing Boards and Executive teams.

If roles are changing, hiring criteria may need to change too.

The strongest appointments are not always the people who most closely resemble the previous incumbent. They are often the people whose capability, judgement and experience align with the organisation as it is today and where it needs to be tomorrow.

For Housing Boards and Executive teams, the implication is clear. If accountability is becoming broader, the strongest candidate may not be the closest like-for-like replacement, but the leader best equipped to work across the real organisational tensions the role now carries.

Explore the Housing Leadership Index

The Douglas Jackson Housing Leadership Index tracks senior leadership movement across Housing Associations, Councils, Housing Providers and the broader Housing ecosystem.

By analysing Executive appointments, Board movement, Customer leadership, Governance, Operations, Property, Technology and Transformation roles, we identify the changing shape of leadership demand and the capability trends influencing future hiring decisions.

Explore the latest Housing Leadership Index and Housing leadership trends here.

Michelle Ansell
Managing Partner, Douglas Jackson