Our board members

Gentoo Group and Gentoo Homes board members

Emily Cox MBE, Group Chair

Emily is the Group Ambassador for the North and Director of Colleague Relations at Lloyds Banking Group. She was previously the Director of Public Affairs at Virgin Money.

Emily is the Vice Chair of the Business and Economy Board at the North East Combined Authority and the Deputy Chair at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music. Emily is also a Member of the CBI North East Regional Council.

She was awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to gender diversity in the financial services sector.

Emily is also Chair of our Customer Committee and Gentoo Developments Board, and is a Member of our Investment Committee.

 

Claire Long, Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee

Claire is the Finance Director at a Newcastle-based law firm, Muckle LLP. She previously spent a significant part of her career working in senior finance roles at Procter & Gamble.

Claire qualified as a chartered accountant in 1995 and has experience in strategy, governance, acquisitions and shared services. She is passionately committed to the North East and is a Member of our People Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

 

Brenda Naisby, Non-Executive Director

Brenda joined the Gentoo Group Board as the customer Member in January 2021. She is also a Member of our People Committee, Customer Committee and Gentoo Developments Board. 

Having been actively involved with the Group for more than five years, she brings a wealth of experience as a Gentoo customer and volunteer and will ensure that the voice of customers is at the forefront of the Group’s decision making.

Brenda was also crowned the Tpas ‘Tenant of the Year’ in 2020, for the influential role she has played in helping other residents in Sunderland.

Hannah Pollard, Non-Executive Director

Hannah is a Finance Director at Fairstone Group and was previously the Head of Accounting & Reporting at EDF Renewables UK & Ireland. Hannah is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales. She previously worked in housing for Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed landlord, and has experience of digital transformation, risk, governance and process improvement.

She is a passionate promoter of women in sport through her involvement as a player and treasurer at Novocastrians Ladies RFC.

Hannah is also a Member of our Investment Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

Nick Forbes CBE, Non-Executive Member

Nick was previously the former leader of Newcastle City Council and is currently a Non-Executive Director for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Nick is also a Member of the Action on Smoking and Health Board.

Nick has significant political working knowledge and expertise within central and local government, public and voluntary sectors. He is passionate about social purpose and is committed to social justice, fairness and equality. 

He is also a Member of our Investment Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

Morven Smith, Chair of People Committee

Morven was previously the Director of Workforce and OD at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for nearly 10 years. Morven has a wealth of experience in Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Morven is passionate about the North East and creating better lives for our customers in Sunderland. She is also a Member of Gentoo Developments Board and Gentoo's Member Responsible for Complaints.

Ellen Thinnesen, Non-Executive Member

Ellen is currently the CEO of Education Partnership North East and has held previous roles as Principle and Chief Executive of Sunderland College. 

Ellen is a Member of the Business and Economy Board at the North East Combined Authority, and a Member of the Washington Town Deal Board at Sunderland City Council. Ellen has had numerous Board positions within education and not-for-profit sectors across the country.

She is also a Member of our People Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

 

Graeme Miller, Council Group Board Member

Graeme is a Councillor for Washington South and spent six years as Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Care and six years as Leader of Sunderland City Council and worked alongside Gentoo during that period.

Graeme has 30 years’ experience working with financial sales and change management consultants. He has lived in Sunderland for the last 32 years and is passionate about Sunderland Football Club, his dogs and his family.

Graeme is also a Member of our Risk and Audit Committee, Customer Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

Dr Nichola Stefanou, Non-Executive Member

Dr Nichola Stefanou is the CEO of HMT and has over 20 years of experience in health and social care and has held various senior leadership positions.

Nichola is passionate about integrating community services to reduce health inequalities. Previously, she served as the Director of Care and Clinical for one of the largest housing associations in the UK. In that role, she led the development of a specialised care segment focused on supporting individuals with complex needs who required long-term health and social care, alongside tailored housing solutions to help them live within the community.

Nichola has also held senior leadership roles within major NHS provider trusts and has experience as a lecturer in higher education. Dedicated to lifelong learning, she holds a doctorate and is an experienced board member and trustee, having served on an Academy Trust board.

She is also a Member of our Risk and Audit Committee and Gentoo Developments Board.

Gentoo Genie Board

Simon Walker, Company Secretary and General Counsel

Steve Hicks, Managing Director

Steve is an experienced financial services executive who joined Genie because he believes in its power to transform the UK housing market. Before joining he was a board director at Arbuthnot Latham, a private bank in the city.

He spent 27 years with Barclays, led the business banking operation in London and the South East before becoming the Head of Barclays Premier Banking, a division responsible for 300,000 retail customers. Steve is a member of the Institute of Bankers and attended Harvard in 2005 where he studied Strategy, Sustaining and Building Competitive Advantage.

Gentoo Customer Committee

Julia Wysocka

Julia sits on the Board Member of the Sunderland Black and Minority Ethnic Network, and is currently a Community Development Officer at ICOS.

She has experience of working within the voluntary sector and leads on community projects focusing on women's empowerment, community leadership and research into Eastern European women's experiences.

Julia also has experience of providing in depth support to survivors of domestic abuse, victims of hate crime and antisocial behaviour. She is passionate about supporting minoritised communities and making sure everyone’s voices are heard and their needs are recognised.

 

Stephanie Carr

Stephanie previously spent time as Vice Chair on the board of her local Children's Centre. She is also involved in the Labour Party, serving on the Constituency Labour Party board for her local area.

Steph doesn’t believe in perfection and thinks things can always be improved and is passionate about customers getting the best service and experience possible.

 

John Dannell 

John is a retired school teacher and has worked with Gentoo in various roles over a 17 year period, from being a Group Board Member to being the current Chair of our Customer and Community Voice group.

John holds two other Charity Directorships and is a Member of the Empower Community Fund.

John is passionate about the need for good social housing and the interests and well being of customers.

Victoria Smith

Victoria works within the mental health sector and after finding herself living in an assisted living facility at a young age, she feels she can offer her knowledge and life experience to become a confident member, advocating for customers and becoming an integral part of the team of Gentoo to support our customers as much as possible.

 

Doreen Richardson

Doreen is committed to representing the people of the area to ensure their voice is heard on matters of importance regarding their homes.

Doreen has recently retired from a career in the private sector working for a global leader in the paints and coatings industry. Her experience is in Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental aspects of the business, with experience supporting the business globally on regulatory issues.

Angela Dalzell 

Angela has lived in Washington for 40 years and has been a customer of Gentoo for 16 years.

Angela has 13 years of experience within Housing and holds a recognised degree from the Chartered Institute of Housing. Angela was also a former youth worker and has significant experience in supporting and assisting customers who have experienced domestic abuse, homelessness, BAME, customers with disabilities, care leavers and probation services.

The inclusion of all customers is her commitment and she is passionate about customer service and supporting her community.