Group Board

Caroline took on the role of Chair of Raven Housing Trust in September 2016.

Caroline also chairs Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust which provides mental health services across the South East. She is also chair of Livability, a charity which helps people with a wide range of disabilities, including providing education and long term care and living options. She was Chief Executive of the Royal Blind Society. In all these roles she is passionate about promoting community engagement and life chances for all, including the most disadvantaged people in our society.

Caroline is a qualified solicitor and experienced corporate lawyer, specialising in private company mergers, acquisitions and restructuring. Caroline was a partner at both Thomas Eggar LLP (now part of Irwin Mitchell) and ASB-Law for many years prior to her move into leadership in broader civil society.

On a personal level she is married to Andrew, has two adult children and a cheeky little dog who requires a lot of walks! She is actively involved in her local community and a committed member of her local church. As a keen gardener she also tries to find time to grow her own veg.

Bryan joined the Board of Raven in 2021. He has a number of non-executive roles across the public and third sector. In addition to his role with Raven he is Chair of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Independent Director at Alliance for Better Care, a GP federation working in Surrey and Sussex. He is also a non-executive member of the Audit Committee at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Over the last decade Bryan has had a number of other non-executive roles, including being a Board member of other Housing Associations, other government departments including BEIS and DESNZ, and other NHS and local authority positions. Bryan is a chartered accountant and worked for many years in public audit, governance, risk management and financial management, prior to pursuing a non-executive career.

Robert has over 25 years’ experience in real estate, both in the UK and international markets. After qualifying and working as a solicitor in Australia, he relocated to the UK in 1998, working as a real estate lawyer at Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy for 8 years, before moving into private equity, where he raised funds and invested in pan-European and emerging markets. In 2010, Robert co-founded a real-estate asset management business, Resolute Asset Management, which operates across the EU and Middle East. Robert now heads Resolute’s dedicated UK housing brand, RESAM Consulting, which provides strategic consulting and portfolio solutions to the sector.

Robert is a father to three teenage children, and looks forward to rediscovering several hobbies when they leave home.

Patrick joined Raven as a Co-optee to the People and Culture Committee in 2020, taking over as Committee Chair in 2023 and formally joining the Board in 2024. He brings expertise gained from over 25 years of experience in a range of roles, primarily in human resources, across a variety of companies and industry sectors, including Chief HR Officer roles at Brambles – an international supply chain and logistics group and EE, the UK mobile telecommunications operator.  He has also held human resources leadership roles at BT, Lloyds Banking Group and Atos Origin.  He is currently Chief Transformation and Customer Experience Officer at Brambles. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Leeds.

Patrick lives in Warlingham with his wife and two children.

Skills area: human resources, remuneration, governance, transformation and customer experience.

Jonathan joined Raven in August 2010. Jonathan worked for two house builders before joining Gloucestershire Housing Association as Development Director.  He has been Chief Executive of Gloucestershire HA, and Oxford Citizens HA, and prior to joining Raven was Managing Director at Home Group.  He has been vice chair of Placeshapers, a national network of over 100 housing associations and is a member of the National Housing Federation’s South East Standing Board.  He has been a non-executive Director of two housing associations, an ALMO, and a variety of regeneration vehicles, which is where his passion lies.  Jonathan has a degree in Geography, a degree in Town Planning, and an MBA.

Mark joined Raven in January 2019. He has worked across the public sector in Surrey and Hampshire including finance roles with local government (education, children’s services and adult social care), policing and health. Before joining Raven he was Director of Finance for Sussex Police from 2010 and Director of Finance within Surrey and Sussex Heatlhcare Commissioning from 2016, both roles included responsibility for IT,Procurement and Estates. Mark is a qualified accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Heather is an experienced executive and non-executive director having worked in social housing and the third sector for 40 years. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer at Sovereign, one of the largest Housing Associations, and is currently a board member with Stonewater and a Trustee of the Longleigh Charitable Trust.

She is passionate that safe, secure, and good quality homes in great places give individuals, families and communities choices and opportunities to thrive.

Skills area: Strategy and Business Planning, Transformation Leadership, Housing Law and regulation, Customer Experience and Engagement

Andrew brings extensive operational, strategic and financial expertise to Raven from both the housing sector and from a range of other industries.  For the past three years, Andrew has been the Managing Director of Antler Homes, a privately owned housebuilder based in Surrey.  Andrew jointly led the acquisition of Antler Homes by a new investor group.  Prior to this role, he was Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at Taylor Wimpey Plc, where he spent eight years and a Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Mergers and Acquisitions team where he spent ten years in London and New York.

Andrew trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant and has an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Joanne is the Executive Director for People at Optivo, one of the largest housing providers in the UK.  Joanne believes in the critical role Housing Associations play in society and the importance of living in a safe, secure and affordable home and how this enables people to flourish.

Joanne is a trained Leadership and Executive Coach, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds a Masters in Strategic Human Resources Management.

Joanne has held a number of senior leadership roles in a variety of sectors including international and matrix organisations where she led a series of complex mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Optivo Joanne was Group Director for People at the UK’s digital technology agency and brings considerable expertise in implementing people strategies aligned to  organisational and cultural  priorities .

Joanne is focussed on strong employee voice, building capability and helping people to maximise their potential.   She champions inclusion, the power of diversity and the creation of environments where all can feel they belong and thrive.

In her spare time Joanne is a volunteer, working with teenage girls in schools providing mentoring, and development of interview and confidence building skills.

Sophie has been a Raven resident since 2014 and joined the Board and People and Culture Committee in September 2022.

Having worked for many years in housing, and in homelessness support roles, Sophie has seen first-hand the life-changing effect that a secure and stable home has on individuals and families. She is a passionate advocate of social justice and anti-poverty government policy and wanted to be involved with Raven at a strategic level to further improve services and to bring a resident perspective to the board.

Sophie currently works for the NHS, with responsibility for staff accommodation. She lives in Tandridge with her son, a university student training to be a paramedic, and in her spare time enjoys restorative yoga and meditation.

Skills area: Housing Sector / Regulation, Health & Social Care, Equality & Diversity, Public Sector, Community Relations.

Kush joined MTVH in 2005 and has held a number of senior leadership roles. In 2023, he was appointed Executive Director of Customer Services, overseeing housing services, home ownership, operational risk, customer experience, community impact, and MTVH support.

Kush has extensive experience in developing customer-centric products and services, having led on MTVH’s intermediate housing offer and customer experience. Kush was integral to the development of SO Resi, providing services to home buyers and third party institutional investors alike.

Kush is chair of the MTVH foundation, a board member of SOJV (a joint venture between Legal and General and MTVH) as well as Raven Housing Trust and a member of the British Property Federation’s Affordable Housing Committee.

Kush has Executive responsibility for compliance with the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, the Neighbourhood and Community Standard and the Tenancy Standard. In addition, Kush holds responsibilities for both Senior Management and Certification functions for FCA regulated activities. Kush is also the Lead Accountable Person for complaints.