Introduction
bLEND's board of directors is comprised of recognised industry experts who provide invaluable guidance and strategic input into the development of bLEND's business.
Board
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Piers Williamson (Executive Director and Chief Executive)
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Arun Poobalasingam (Executive Director and Funding and Marketing Director)
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Julie Coetzee (Executive Director and Finance Director)
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David Stokes (Executive Director and Credit and Risk Director)
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George Blunden (Chair)
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Scott Bottles (Chair of Credit Committee)
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Guy Thomas (Chair of Audit and Risk Committee)
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Fiona MacGregor (Shareholder Nominee Director from the Regulator of Social Housing)
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Gail Teasdale (Shareholder Nominee Director from National Housing Federation)
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David Montague
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Tony King (Chair of Remuneration and Nominations Committee)
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Shirley Smith Senior Non-Executive Director
Piers Williamson
Piers has been the Chief Executive of The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) for the last twenty one years, working extensively with government and government agencies and viewed as a sector expert on all aspects of housing finance. He has also advised the Australian Federal Treasury on setting up an equivalent bond aggregator in Australia. He has over 35 years of experience of the UK, US and European financial markets specialising in bank treasury risk management, securitisation and the interface between private sector financing and Government. He holds professional qualifications in both treasury and banking and in addition to his duties at THFC served as a non-executive member of the Homes & Communities Agency’s Regulation Committee for Social Housing between 2012 and 2015. In addition to his duties at THFC, Piers is currently the Chair of the Board of Newbury Building Society. In 2015 he received a lifetime contribution award at the Housing Association National Accountancy Awards.
Arun Poobalasingam
Arun joined THFC in August 2021 as Head of Relationship Management and Business Development. He joined from HSBC where he helped set up and then led their social housing business focusing predominantly on larger housing associations. Having started his career working at Diageo, he moved to Network Rail where starting as a financial modeller he moved on to the Treasury team that raised over £20bn of debt through the Global Capital Markets during his stint. He left in 2007 to join HSBC’s real estate team at an interesting time for the sector and specialised in property for most of his time there.
Julie Coetzee
Julie is a chartered accountant with over 30 years of experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in applied finance. Julie has spent the last 20 years at JP Morgan Chase & Co, holding several different positions in financial controlling and regulatory reporting, both in the United Kingdom and in Australia. Prior to that, she worked at KPMG Australia in their audit practice.
David Stokes
David joined THFC in 2012, having specialised in credit risk at a number of financial institutions. Immediately prior to joining THFC he was Head of Corporate Credit at Santander UK with responsibility for the social housing, large corporates, real estate and specialised finance portfolios. His earlier career included Head of Credit positions at Bank of Ireland and Fortis Bank and a range of senior credit and relationship management roles at NatWest.
George Blunden
George joined bLEND as a Non-Executive Director in March 2019. His full-time career has ranged from adventure playgrounds to investment banking and fund management. For nine years George was Chair of Charity Bank, retiring in May 2022. He has also just completed his term of office as the Senior Independent Director of the insurer, Beazley Plc. He has also been deeply involved in social housing Chairing Southern Housing Group from 1993 to 2006 and Stonewater, one of the UK’s largest housing associations since 2010. George stood down as Chair of Stonewater in October 2021.
Scott Bottles
Scott Bottles was appointed to the Board in March 2018. He served as Executive Vice President and Senior Credit Officer for International Commercial Real Estate at Wells Fargo Bank until his retirement earlier this year. He has more than 30-years of experience in the commercial and residential real estate sectors in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Guy Thomas
Guy is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Director with over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to this executive retirement he was Group Finance Director of Principality Building Society, a lender to housing associations. A fellow of The Association of Corporate Treasurers, he has extensive experience in treasury and risk management. Guy is currently a Non-Executive Director of Sainsbury’s Bank where he is Chair of the Risk Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. He is also Chair of Penhurst Properties Limited. He was appointed to the Board in May 2019.
Fiona MacGregor
Gail Teasdale
Gail is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience, much of it in Finance Director roles in a variety of industries both in the private and public sectors. She is Chief Executive of Broadacres, a housing association based in North Yorkshire with over 6,600 homes. She is a Board Member of the National Housing Federation where she chairs their audit and risk committee. She is also a board member of the Chorley Building Society. Gail was nominated by the National Housing Federation to THFC’s Board in March 2023.
David Montague
David served as the Chief Executive of L&Q, one of Britain’s largest housing associations, between 2008 and 2021. Over thirty-two years David has, in a number of roles, overseen the company’s growth and success through mergers, acquisitions, major regenerations schemes and development partnerships with smaller associations. A leading figure in the sector, David has been chair of the G15 and served on the board of the National Housing Federation, as well as working with successive London Mayors. In 2013 David was awarded a CBE for services to housing in London. David was appointed to the board of THFC in March 2020. He is also Chair of Joseph Homes; non-executive director of Hadley Property Group, Heylo Housing Group and the Abri Group; senior advisor to Lloyds Banking Group; and non-executive advisor to property technology company Staykeepers.
Tony King
After twenty years in the housing sector, Tony retired as Group Treasurer of Sanctuary Group in 2019. He began his career in banking, including roles at various international banks. At Sanctuary, Tony used his experience in finance to oversee the Group’s loan book and fund new housing developments and regeneration projects. Tony is a trustee of the Church of England Pension Board, a non-executive Board member of Platform Housing Group, and holds finance and audit-based committee roles for the Sunshine Centre, an Oxfordshire children’s charity, and for the Heart of Worcestershire College.
Shirley Smith
Shirley’s experience comprises over 35-years in real estate and infrastructure finance, covering debt, investment, restructuring, workout and credit with blue chip organisations (including CBRE, Citi, Barings, PwC, Lend Lease, Assured Guaranty and EY). She has an MA in Economics & Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and holds a Certificate in Investments and Financial Derivatives from the Securities & Investment Institute. Shirley was until 2020 a Non-Executive Director at CREFC (Europe), the Industry Association for commercial real estate debt in Europe and is a member of the Investment Property Forum. She is the Senior Independent Director of bLEND.
Senior Non-Executive Director
The Board appoints a Senior Non-Executive Director.
The appointed Senior Non-Executive Director is Shirley Smith.
Directors’ Independence
All directors are non-executive with the exception of Piers Williamson, the Chief Executive, Fenella Edge, the Group Treasurer, and Ray Walker, Finance Director. With the exceptions mentioned above the Board has determined that all remaining non-executive directors are independent and free from any material relationship that could interfere with their ability to discharge their duties.
Term of Office
All non-executive directors are limited to nine years’ service on the Board. Independent directors are normally elected for terms of three years and may offer themselves for re-election at the conclusion of the first and second terms. The Chairman may serve for a maximum term of six years and is subject to re-election annually at the Annual General Meeting. The Board will select each chairman in accordance with the rules of Blend.
Directors’ Attendance at Meetings
Directors’ attendance at bLEND Board and Board committee meetings during the year will be accessible via bLEND’s report and accounts. Where a Director was unable to attend a meeting he or she was scheduled to attend, the Chairman received a sound reason for the non-attendance. Special Board meetings are those called at short notice principally to approve the documentation of borrowing and lending. It is not expected that every Board member attends each special meeting, only that a quorum is present, though all Board members are given notice of the meeting and informed of the business to be conducted.
Role of Board
The Board sets the strategic objectives of bLEND, determines investment policies, and agrees performance criteria and delegates to management the detailed planning and implementation of those objectives and policies in accordance with appropriate risk parameters. The Board monitors compliance with policies and achievement against objectives by holding management accountable for its activities through quarterly performance reporting and budget updates.
The Board holds six scheduled meetings each year which cover both standard and adhoc business. Standard business is tracked via a Board diary and determines the standard section of the agenda and details the key items of business that are considered by the Board. A rolling agenda is maintained to record emerging issues that will require Board consideration at future scheduled meetings. Adhoc meetings are convened as when required where Board approval is required outside of the scheduled meetings.
Certain matters are dealt with exclusively by the Board. These include approval of financial statements, strategy, major capital projects, changes to the Group’s management and control structure and approval of all borrowing loan agreements and the standard form of all lending loan agreements.
All key decisions are taken by the Board or its committees. Where necessary the Board or committee will delegate certain decisions to management within clearly defined parameters which are minuted.
The roles of Chairman and Chief Executive are not fulfilled by the same individual. The Board reviews and approves the Chief Executive’s operational authorities on an annual basis. This document also determines which items are reserved for Chairman’s or non-executive approval. All other decisions require Board approval.
All directors may call upon independent professional advice at the expense of bLEND.
Diversity and Inclusion
Our diversity and inclusion ambition is to support an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute to our success. Our Board seeks to ensure that its composition reflects a wide range of different skills, experience and perspectives. The importance of having a diverse workforce is also recognised because we aspire to reflect the composition of our stakeholders and the wider community. A review of talent takes place annually to assess the composition of the Board and its Committees and this includes considering succession planning, the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge of the board with the aim of increasing diversity wherever possible.