Our team

Jeff is the Chair of bpha. He is also the Chair of the Coal Authority, Deputy Chair of the Sea Fish Industry Authority and Director of Widgit Ltd and Colborough Ltd.  

Jeff was born and raised in Northampton, and after a career of living and working in various places around the world, he has found his way back. He has made his ‘non-exec’ career focus on supporting organisations that have a social purpose and is looking forward to furthering bpha’s objectives. 

Outside of work, Jeff and his wife are busy with their nine grandchildren. 

Maxwell (Max) brings over 15 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant and Chief Internal Auditor within the insurance market and also has a degree in Town Planning and Design.

Maxwell has set up and led internal audit functions and has been on Boards including London South East College.

He has also worked with Flood Re, a joint initiative between insurers and the government to make flood cover more affordable. This experience has helped cement his understanding of the need to ensure that houses are not only maintained to high standards, but protected against the negative impact of climate change.

Maxwell is keen to working in partnership with local stakeholders to preserve green spaces and address the housing shortage.

Maxwell also joins our Audit & Risk Committee.

Paul brings over 36 years’ experience in residential development and property management, the majority of which has been in the housing association sector.

He has been responsible for the strategic leadership of the Orbit Homes’ Property Investment Programme, the housebuilder of Orbit Group, for eight years. As Executive Director Property Investment, Paul was responsible for delivering over 1,700 new homes in the Midlands, East Anglia and the South East in 2015-16.

Previously he was the Director of Development and Asset Management at WM Housing Group and the Director of Development at Castle Vale Housing Action Trust in Birmingham.

He also spent three years whilst at Orbit as a board member of Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT).

Katherine qualified originally as an accountant and then with the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). She has now worked in Corporate Treasury and Finance for over 20 years, holding Group Treasurer positions at Centrica plc, Arriva plc, and currently at the AA.

She has served as trustee for a local mental health charity in Surrey for 8 years, on the Board of Greensquare Housing Association prior to their merger; and is currently a Council Member at the ACT. She grew up and was educated in Bucks, Northants, Cambridge and Oxford and is delighted to be back supporting people, communities and development in the area.

Shirley has over 20 years’ senior HR experience gained in the private and public sectors, including most recently as Director of Human Resources for the Department of Health.

She is a Senior Independent Director of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Chairs the Remuneration Committee and the Workforce and Education Committee. She is also a non-executive board member designate of the Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board.

Steve brings 30 years’ experience as a Quantity Surveyor within the residential property development sector, specialising in Commercial Management. He started his own property development, commercial management, and supply chain consultancy in 2020, following a role as Commercial Director at the Berkeley Group, working within London and the south-east.

In addition to his role at bpha, Steve is a Trustee of Amicus Trust, a local homeless charity whose aim is to ensure everyone has a chance to achieve a life free from homelessness and a place in their community. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Wandle Housing Association, Non-Executive Director at Broadland Housing Association, and an Independent Committee Member of A2 Dominion Group.

Hari brings over 25 years’ senior director and board level experience gained within Daimler Benz Group, University of Derby, and the Action for Children charity. He is qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and a Chartered Banker and holds an MBA.

Hari attended the High Potential Leadership Programme at Harvard Business School, USA. In 2005 he achieved Chartered Director status, the most recognised qualification for Non-Executive Directors from the Institute of Directors (IoD) UK.

He has held number of Non-Executive Director positions and currently chairs the Audit and Risk committee at the Office for Legal Complaints and at Derby County Cricket Club. Hari also serves as a Justice of Peace and a presiding Magistrate.

Geraldine has extensive experience gained within the health service, including as a Consultant Psychiatrist, an Executive Director, Quality and Medical Leadership of the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and a Non-Executive Director of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She is a currently a Non-Executive Director of the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. Her knowledge of good corporate governance, together with experience of collective Board responsibility, achieved national recognition when she won the Health Service Journal Award for Board Leadership in 2014.