Mike Stevenson has replaced Tony Taylor as Board Chair of Futures Housing Group.
Mike, 56, has a wealth of experience in the banking industry and was officially appointed to his new role on 21 May at the East Midlands provider, which manages around 10,000 homes.
He takes over from Tony, 74, who has been at the helm for three of his nine years on the Board at Futures. He will continue working with the business as a member of the Asset Investment Committee and Limehouse Board.
Mike, who has been a Board Director with Futures since 2016, said: “I’m really excited about my new role in Futures. It’s an exciting time for the whole Group. “I joined Futures about three years ago because I wanted to bring my expertise from the financial sector into a high performing organisation in the housing sector.
“It’s really encouraging to see Futures performing so well and that is down to the people, the team work and the right environment. Futures has achieved a lot so far, but I believe we can achieve even more.”
Lindsey Williams, Group Chief Executive, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Mike Stevenson as our new Chair.
“Mike brings an in-depth knowledge of finance to the Group and joins us at an extremely exciting time as we develop a new corporate plan, revamp our working environments and move confidently forward with our growth strategy.”
Under Tony’s Chair-ship, Futures accelerated its development programme from delivering 60 homes in 2015/16 to a new company record of 230 during 2018/19. Futures has also sustained its position as a high performing, sector-leading and award-winning organisation.
Recent achievements include Investors in People ‘Gold’ accreditation and a ‘Great’ rating from Investors in Excellence.
Tony said: “Nine years seem to have come and gone very quickly. Although there have been many challenges along the way, being surrounded by enthusiastic, knowledgeable Board colleagues and employees has made my role far easier than it might otherwise have been.
“Obviously I am sad to be leaving as Chair, but do so in the knowledge that Futures is in a great place, governed and guided by extremely competent people.”
Lindsey added: “I’d like to thank Tony for his leadership and support which has contributed massively to how we’ve grown the business over the last few years.
“Under his Chair-ship we have progressed and grown as an organisation - acquiring and building more homes than at any other time in our history, IiP Gold and improved customer service.
“At the Board meeting yesterday, Tony acknowledged that this had been possible due to the great people that work for and are on the Board at Futures.”
Tony began his housing career in 1971 when he joined the Housing Corporation, the forerunner of the Homes and Communities Agency, and before the formal regulation of social housing came into being. In 1976 he became the first-ever employee and Chief Executive of Waterloo Housing Association. During his tenure he built Waterloo from a one-man, 24-home provider with a £5,000 overdraft into a multi-million pound, major provider of 5,000 quality homes in the West Midlands, employing 150 people. In October 2008 he led Waterloo in creating a partnership with Eastern Shires Housing Association to form Waterloo Housing Group, extending to 16,500 homes, one of the most significant and influential housing providers in the Midlands.
Tony was also selected by the former Housing Corporation to be a specialist “troubleshooting” volunteer – using his skills and experience to help turn around the fortunes of struggling organisations.
