Our team

Kath joined the Board in 2017 and following four years as Audit Chair, she became Group Chair in 2022. She is a qualified accountant with a background in governance, risk management and audit. Kath currently works as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS and is Audit Chair for another Housing Association in West Yorkshire. She also provides governance and accountancy to the Foresters Friendly Society in Sheffield, and chairs panels for managers hearings when patients are sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She has two school aged children and enjoys running and swimming. 

Carole joined the Board in September 2018 and brings extensive experience of working in the social housing sector. She spent her early career working in the homelessness service of a London borough, followed by working in housing management in the Midlands. Carole then worked as an Executive Director for large housing organisations, focussing on customer and corporate services.

Carole now runs a consultancy business and recently completed work with a local charity on a large project providing housing for vulnerable people. She was also Chair of a local Citizens Advice.

Paul joined the Acis Board in 2017 and has wide experience of working in the housing sector. Paul is currently Deputy Chief Executive/Finance Director at Magna Housing. He has direct responsibility for Finance, Legal, Governance and Risk. Previously he was Executive Director at Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), with strategic responsibility for finance, asset management and development, housing management and property and compliance.

Paul supports the Board at Magna and is the senior management lead for the audit and risk committee.

Paul is passionate about the housing sector, particularly development and the role that Housing Associations play in helping the country deal with the housing crisis while supporting many of the most vulnerable in our society.

Julie Haywood has spent most of her career within housing and community investment. Most recently she was Director of Community Investment for Walsall Housing Group where she worked for 17 years, leading innovative customer focused services. People and communities really matter to her and she is passionate about the role that housing can play in promoting inclusivity and championing the customer voice. 

Julie currently holds Non-Executive roles for Adullam Homes and Concept Housing. 

Paul joined our Board in 2022. He is a qualified certified Accountant who has worked in the NHS for over 37 years in various roles.

Paul has over 15 years Board level experience as an Executive Director of Finance in large complex organisations. He has significant experience of public/private partnerships, acquisitions and mergers, joint ventures and he also has led on the setting up of a community interest company to support people back to work.

Before this Non- Executive role, Paul was a Non- Executive Director on the Board of Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group and chaired their Audit Committee. Paul is passionate about public services and believes that good Health, Education and Housing services support people to lead better lives.

Sami joined the board in September 2023.  

He is an accredited Senior Project Manager with over 12 years’ expertise leading various business transformation programmes and managing high profile projects across a variety of sectors. 

He is a registered MSP, Lean Six Sigma and PRINCE2 Practitioner and with his background of Banking and Financial Management has an excellent knowledge of managing complex budgets. 

He also has Trustee positions across other companies in the Private and Public sectors as well as a Magistrate.  

He enjoys a variety of sports, from Kickboxing, Tennis, badminton player as well as going to the gym.

John joined the Board in 2023.  He brings over 35 years of senior management experience at Chief Executive level, and in high value fundraising activity in the social housing, community investment, and education and training sectors. From 2003 to 2005, John was the Chief Executive of London’s largest Enterprise Agency providing business advice, training, and capacity building support to SMEs across the capital. 

John established his own management consultancy in 2006, and delivers business strategy planning, fundraising, and business development advice and training to a wide range of clients across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. He was instrumental in securing complex multi-million pound contracts for the community investment arm of Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest housing association, where he served as Head of Fundraising and Business Development for 12 years until 2022.

Bruce joined the board in 2017 with over 35 years’ experience of working in social housing. His career has spanned consultancy and senior management roles for a wide variety of social landlords ranging from small BAME associations to L&Q, one of the largest in the UK. Over that period, he has managed departments responsible for housing management, supported housing, development, asset management and repairs services as well as managing a stock transfer association which encompassed all those functions.

Now semi-retired, Bruce remains committed to social housing and retains his membership of the Chartered Institute of Housing as a Fellow. He  is also a Trustee of a village charity.

Holly has been involved in Procurement and Contract Management for over 20 years in various public and third sector organisations. She is a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

Holly has been in her current role, as Head of Strategic Procurement at the City of Doncaster Council, for 6 years where she is responsible for a portfolio of spend of approximately £300m per year. In addition to this she is responsible for procurement services at St Leger Homes of Doncaster Limited, an ALMO of the Council, who have a housing stock of approximately 20,000.

Prior to moving to the Council in 2017, Holly worked in the Housing Sector for 10 years for a Registered Provider in North Lincolnshire called Ongo, where her remit included procurement and value for money. In addition to general procurement at Ongo, Holly was involved with tenant engagement, developing more efficient operations and ensuring best value for rents paid.

Holly started her career, after graduating from university in 2002, in the NHS, working for the two Trusts in Doncaster in various roles relating to purchasing and supplies.

In her roles Holly has been involved with significant changes and events in the public sector such as major changes in legislation, Covid-19, austerity, flooding and more recently the closure of the Doncaster & Sheffield Airport (DSA).

Holly is passionate about public services through delivering better contracting, developing more efficient ways of working through redesigns in process and operations, developing staff, and social value.

David is a retired Barclays Corporate Bank Relationship Director, who in the last 20 years of his career managed a portfolio of around 30 clients, within a geographical area that included the Midlands and South Yorkshire. The portfolio was made of large Social Landlords (both traditional and LSVT’s) and high profile Universities.

Having focused on Social Housing in the last 20 years of his career David continues to have keen interest in the the housing sector, particularly development and the role that Housing Associations play in helping the country deal with the housing crisis while supporting many of the most vulnerable in our society.

Following retirement he joined the Board of the Leicestershire YMCA which enabled him to utilise his banking and social housing experiences.

He supports all the Leicester sporting clubs; is a member of Stoke Rochford Golf Club, enjoys Cycling (having raised around £12k for Prostate Cancer in previous years); is a vineyard tour and wine tasting host at Hanwell Wine Estate in South Nottinghamshire; is a "Padi" qualified Dive Master; and enjoys travel, food, wine, family and walking his dog.

Edward May is a leader with significant experience in school, organisational, and governance improvementation, having held senior posts across the primary and secondary sectors, and led a number of schools and governing bodies as Executive Headteacher, Chair, and latterly as Executive Director and founding trustee of the Community Academies Trust.  He formed a National Teaching School and is designated a National Leader of Education. Edward has been a regular contributor to publications achieving The Times Educational Supplement - School Book of the Year award as a contributing author. He has also served on the Teacher Advisory Group for HRH 'Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts' and was jointly responsible for the nationally acclaimed Face Britain initiative featured at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. Edward’s work with Face Britain was celebrated in the Times, on Good Morning Britain, Blue Peter and in the Guinness Book of Records.

Matt is the founder of one of the fastest growing impact-driven social enterprises, the We Are Group, headquartered in Coventry, which manages large community investment and welfare programmes across the UK for social housing providers, local authorities and central government. He mentors other social enterprise founders, and is specifically skilled in strategic objectives, fundraising, social impact, selling to the public sector and welfare matters. He is passionate about public sector innovation and welfare technology and services, looking to do things differently from the status quo, especially in disrupting how community investment is run traditionally, for higher impact for users and organisations. Matt is committed to contributing his strategic acumen, industry knowledge, and collaborative spirit to advance Acis Group's social mission.

Tom Hughes joined the board as a Trainee Board Member in 2024, and is part of the Housing Diversity Network trainee programme. Tom currently working for Berneslai Homes as the Senior Capital Project Manager responsible in delivering Barnsley Home Standard programmes, Extensive Capital, Disrepair, Major Adaptation, Programme Replacements and recently energy efficiency projects both fabric first and whole house approach. Tom has a combined 13 years experience in the Water Treatment and Housing industries which has allowed him to work and gain knowledge and experience across a number of sectors. 

Nabeel is one of the newest members of the Board, joining in September 2024 as a Trainee Board Member.  Currently working for Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, he leads its UK and Ireland government business. He works closely with a wide range of banks, payments companies, and industry partners to champion the use of technology to facilitate more effective payments in the public sector, and leverage payments data to enhance policy development and evaluation.     

Before Mastercard, Nabeel spent five years working at Metro Bank, one of the UK’s first challenger banks. There he worked in both the products and finance teams to build propositions, develop business change cases, and procure new services. Earlier in his career, Nabeel worked as a management consultant leading projects across Europe, the Middle East and North America and prior to that, he was a senior political adviser.

Nabeel also sits on the board of Greatwell Homes and is a member of its Audit and Risk Committee.

Russell is the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer, and part of the Corporate Management Team, with responsibilities for the Divisions managed by the Assistant Director of Resources, Assistant Director of Investment, Assistant Director of Environment and Public Protection, Assistant Director of Democratic Services and Assistant Director of Corporate and Community Services.

Russell has been at North Kesteven DC for 10 years and has worked in Local Government for over 20 years mainly across two authorities, including West Lindsey District Council and North Kesteven.

Russell started his career in the Private Sector working in electronics, the care sector and manufacturing, before moving into consultancy and local government. Russell is married with two children and hails from South Yorkshire.  He is a keen follower of many sports including rugby, football and cricket.

Kitesh joined Acis Group in September 2024 as an Independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee, bringing a fresh perspective and a wealth of experience to the table.

Currently serving as the Director of Risk at Places for People, Kitesh is known for his strategic thinking and his ability to navigate complex challenges with ease. Before stepping into this role, Kitesh honed his skills at Mercedes-Benz UK and the Volkswagen Group, where he was a driving force behind transformative approaches to risk management, governance, and operational resilience.

Beyond his day job, Kitesh plays a vital role in the public sector as a member of the Joint Audit and Risk Assurance Panel for Leicestershire Police, where his insights help strengthen governance and ensure operational excellence.

Kitesh is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, a full member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors and holds an MBA in Leadership Practice. His commitment to continuous growth and learning is evident in every aspect of his career.

Graham now runs his own consultancy business as well as being a Non-Executive Director at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (where he is Chair and also chairs the Finance Committee) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust (where he is Vice-Chair and also chairs the Finance and Activity Committee), together with being a Non-Executive Director with Mission Room Limited, a company that specialises in immersive solutions for industry and education.

Angela has extensive experience in the education sector, with over ten years as school governor and or trustee, including chair of governors, and four years as a college and university lecturer. Angela was also the executive lead for an award-winning local Healthwatch, and has held senior positions at a housing association for over seven years, and four years at a homeless day centre.

Cath joined as an Independent Committee Member in 2024, having previously worked in employment law for 25 years and then ten years as a trade union official with UNISON.  A previously elected District Councillor, she was appointed as Anti-Poverty Champion for the District in 2017.

Cath spent six years as vice chair of Bradford District Credit Union and seven years on the board of Manningham Housing Association where she chaired the Customer Experience Committee and sat on the HR and Remuneration Committee. She has been a member of the Housing Ombudsman Service's Resident Panel since 2020.

A disability champion and community campaigner with lived experience of social housing, Cath was shortlisted for Lifetime Achiever Award in Equality Diversity and Inclusion in 2024 at the Diversifying Group Awards and won Tenant of the Year in 2023 at the Northen Housing Awards.

Paul is a chartered surveyor with 35 years’ experience in construction, property development, support services and student accommodation. Most of his career was with Balfour Beatty, the international construction company, where he was Commercial Director helping set the strategic direction and business planning for businesses with combined annual revenues of £1.6bn and employing 18,000 people. On the Executive Board he directed all commercial and compliance activities across regulated sectors as well as having accountability for risk management and the internal audit framework.

More recently he spent the last eight years as Managing Director of UPP, the UK’s largest on-campus student housing provider with 40,000 units under management.

Since leaving UPP in 2023, Paul has striven to give something back to the property sector and the communities it serves. He holds Non-Executive roles for Ethical Leasehold Management Group and the University of Reading.

Chris is one of the newest members of the board, joining in September 2022 as a Trainee Board Member.

He has over 22 years of experience in the fitness, leisure, and community sector, and has extensive background in coordinating community wellbeing programmes. By day, Chris works as a Regional Community Wellbeing Manager, engaging with private, public, and 3^rd sector stakeholders across 20 local authority areas in the East of England.

Working for his employer Everyone Active, which operates leisure facilities and community outreach programmes, invests significant time into his local community of Gainsborough, and the surrounding areas of West Lindsey. Chris, therefore, works with several local partners including the Acis Group to provide a range of activities such as wellbeing services, events, volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.

Chris has a L7 Diploma in Strategic Leadership & Management and is currently undertaking L8 Diploma in Strategic Directions. As part of this career progression Chris is a Member of CIMSPA and the Chartered Management Institute and has recently been awarded his Chartered Manager Status.”

He loves sports and plays golf, swims regularly and does plenty of walking for the upkeep of his own wellbeing.