John Cross John has been Chief Executive of bpha since 1995 and was elected as chair of the National Housing Federation in September 2006 for a three-year term. John was appointed to the Board in 2004.  He is responsible for advising the Board on the formulation of policy and the implementation of Board decisions, and also leads bpha's staff and the overall management of the Association.

John has twice been a member of the National Housing Federation Board, serving a total of 10 years since 1996, and chaired its Housing Finance Committee and most recently, between 2004 and 2006, its Investment and Regeneration Committee. In 2006, he became a member of the Housing Corporation New Approaches to Investment review group which is considering the lessons learnt from the most recent investment round.

More locally, John chairs the Bedford Partnership Board (the local strategic partnership) and is an active member of Renaissance Bedford, a partnership of public and private sector organisations supporting the delivery of the Government's sustainable communities plan in the Bedford area. He is also a member of the Countywide Partnership responsible for overseeing the implementation of the county's local area agreement.

A graduate in Town Planning, John worked in the co-operative housing world before joining mainstream housing associations. He was previously Chief Executive of Swaythling Housing Society in Hampshire where he oversaw a major expansion of the association before he left to join bpha in 1995.