Our Board has overall responsibility for Fairhive Homes and must act in its best interest. It's role is to determine our vision and strategy, as well as to direct and scrutinise our activities. The Board, made up of residents, councillors and independent members, is also responsible for ensuring the financial well-being of the organisation, by ensuring that it's managed efficiently and effectively.
Scroll down to read more about our Board Members.
Parent Board Members - Fairhive Homes Limited
Chair - Stephen Stringer
Vice Chair - Susan Ralphs
David Keeling, Olivia Clymer, Barbara Richardson, Kelly Webster, Angela Macpherson, Sue Fogden, Matt McGeehan, Ade Osibogun
Subsidiary Board Members
Barbara Richardson, Susan Ralphs, Griff Marshalsay, Roger Craft
Co-optee Committee members
Charles Brooks - Audit & Risk Committee, Peter Merchant - Development & Assets Committee
Stephen Stringer - Chair, Independent
Stephen Stringer joined the organisation as the new Board Chair on 1st April 2016.
He brings a wealth of relevant experience as a non-executive Board member, a Chair and having had a varied career as a senior Civil Servant at the now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Until recently he was the Chair of Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association, a position he held for six years, and previously a Board member of the Metropolitan Support Trust.
During his career as a Government advisor he worked in the housing and regeneration sectors as well as being responsible for the governance and oversight a range of Government organisations. This has seen him deliver high profile projects, including the programme to expand the large scale private rented sector involving the Build to Rent fund, the Olympics Legacy, and delivering growth in the Thames Gateway Programme.
Susan Ralphs - Vice Chair, Independent, and Subsidiary Director
Sue was appointed to the Board in April 2019 and brings to it a wealth of experience of managing teams, working with boards and driving strategic change, as well as commercial property development. She is a Chartered Accountant and has been in senior management for 25 years. She worked initially in Oxfam then as Finance Director at the women’s organisation and housing association, YWCA, for 10 years. She then joined Ethical Property, one of the UK’s leading social businesses, where she was firstly Finance Director then Managing Director for eight years. Sue currently lives in Oxford working as a consultant, a coach and she is also on the Board of a charitable foundation.
David Keeling - Independent
David is an Independent Housing Consultant, specialising in affordable housing development and asset management.
From 2000, David held the roles of Executive Director of Development, and latterly Chief Operating Officer, at Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association, and more recently, Executive Director of Development and Sales at Cross Keys Homes.
He led the dramatic growth of both associations' development programmes, including substantial geographical expansion, diversification into housing for market sale and rent, and a number of joint ventures with public, private and voluntary sector organisations. The two associations completed 10,000 new affordable homes and successfully delivered 2,000 shared ownership sales during David’s service as Executive Lead.
David has served on several Housing Association Boards in London and the Homes Counties.
Olivia Clymer - Independent
Olivia’s early career was spent with the Environment Agency which subsequently led to roles in related areas in both the public and private sector. She has served as a member for the Consumer Council for Water and as a housing association board member for nine years.
Olivia's experience in the voluntary and community sector and local authority, helped to develop her focus on regeneration and the challenges of social and economic disadvantage. Her expertise in social care and systems transformation has informed her interest in the challenging area of housing and support. Olivia is currently a Board Member for Northampton General Hospital, chairing the Quality and Safety Committee and the CEO for HealthWatch Central, West London.
Barbara Richardson - Subsidiary Director, Parent Board Member
Barbara has worked in the housing and property sector since 1995. During this time she has held several posts at Senior Director and Board level, in both medium and large national and international organisations. She currently holds the position of Managing Director for a local authority trading company, and is responsible for both the build, acquisition and management of mixed use, mixed tenure projects.
Barbara previously spent three years as an Executive Director of Growth and Investment at Yarlington Housing Group, with responsibility for Development, Regeneration, Sales, Marketing, Property Services and Asset Management. She also spent five years as a Senior Director for Savills and worked at director level for a major house builder and property investment company.
Barbara’s skills and experience obtained over the last 25 years in this sector have given her extensive experience in site identification, land acquisition, planning, project management and sales.She also has extensive experience in property services, and strategic asset management.
Sue Fogden - Independent
Sue was appointed to the Board this year. A Chartered Surveyor with a wealth of experience in both private and public sectors, latterly she has been closely involved in health. Directly and as an independent consultant, she has worked for a range of NHS health providers and commissioners.
Sue takes a systems approach to the leadership and delivery of her numerous complex health infrastructure projects, engaging from board level to end-users and navigating through tiers of bureaucracy to achieve much-needed improved infrastructure, ensuring that buildings are enablers for and not barriers to good outcomes.
As well as being a surveyor, Sue is a Law graduate and a RICS Evaluative Mediator. She is excited to join the Board and looks forward to contributing to an area she has long wanted to be more involved in.
Angela Macpherson - Council Board Member
Angela was born in Norfolk and describes herself as a ‘nomad’ spending her childhood in Colchester, Newcastle and completing her education in Chester. She studied English at Manchester University and after graduating joined Arthur Andersen. Quickly realising that accountancy was not her ideal career choice, she moved into advertising and marketing working with Smith and Nephew and Shulton, a P&G subsidiary, specialising in new product development.
Angela and her family moved to Aylesbury in 1995 where she has worked in marketing consultancy and for the County Council as a Scrutiny and Policy Manager. In 2013, Angela chose to stand for election for the County Council and became the local member for the Grendon Underwood division. Last year Angela was elected onto the new unitary council as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member Adult Social Care.
In additional to the busy world of local politics, Angela loves to spend time with her family. She is married to Iain and has two children, Rosanna and Angus. She has many other interests but particularly enjoys walking her dog in the Buckinghamshire countryside, travelling and art.
Kelly Webster - Independent
Kelly has worked in accountancy firms since 1994, is a Company Director and a Business Development Manager, respectively, for two sister companies in the dental sector. Kelly is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, and has additional experience in accounting, administration, marketing and consumer credit.
Kelly is committed to helping to change the future of our community, especially for the elderly and younger generation, having seen the Vale go through many changes.Kelly has lived in the Vale for 20 years and she has been a leaseholder with us since 2006 and is one of our Block Champions.
Matt McGeehan - Independent
Matt is a retired chartered accountant, who worked with international accounting firms in the UK and abroad. Followed by a career as a finance professional in industry.
Ade Osibogun - Council Board Member
Dr. Adekunle Osibogun is a dual qualified lawyer and an arbitrator, with experience in dispute avoidance and complex disputes. He brings a wealth of knowledge as a corporate lawyer and dispute resolution expert with over fifteen years’ experience, and expertise in commercial disputes.
During his career he has led on international research projects and delivers professional research consultancy services. He is currently a scholar at the University of Law. His research interests covers a range of constitutional and public law issues, focusing on governance structures and systems, separation of powers and checks and balancing mechanisms.
Outside the walls of the legal profession, Adekunle is devoted and committed to promoting democracy globally. He is a member of Buckinghamshire Council, and plays an active role in different committees including the Council’s Education and Planning Committees. He also leads on the governing board for other community impact organistations, including Healthwatch Bucks.
Peter Merchant - Co-optee Member of the Development & Assets Committee
Peter is a Chartered Surveyor, who has worked in the property industry for over 25 years. He is currently employed as an Investment Director for a real estate Investment Manager.
His experience spans both residential and commercial property investment and development working to deliver public and private finance to bring forward property lead housing, health and social investment. He has delivered health care accommodation for NHS primary care providers whilst working for General Practice Investments, Lead Development and Investment programs for a number of housing associations and at Savills provided viability valuation and consultancy services for a broad range of clients.
He was a board member of Buckinghamshire Housing Association from 2021 until it's merger with Fairhive in 2023. He has lived in the Aylesbury vale for over 13 years and has spent most of his life living and working around the Aylesbury area.
Griff Marshalsay - Subsidiary Director
Griff has over 30 years experience in property operations and management for residential development and mixed development property markets, in both private and social housing sectors. He also has over 20 years of Board experience in various PLCs. He retired from full time employment to take on the challenge of non-executive directorship with Fairfax Housing, as well as being Chair of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) Property Company, to assist in the delivery of 1,000 new social units over the next 10 years.
Roger Craft - Subsidiary Director
Roger has over 40 years' experience of working in the Construction Industry, the last 25 years of which was at Board Level, gaining knowledge on many and varied commercial, contractual, legal, and financial matters. He is well-versed in various types of projects, ranging in size and across sectors, on design and build and other contractual bases.
Since retiring from full time employment in 2012, Roger has been able to use his skills working in various capacities on a part time and voluntary basis. In September 2016, he joined the Board of Buckinghamshire Housing Association and was Chair of that Board from September 2018 up to 9th January 2023 at which time he joined the Boards of Fairfax Design and Build Limited and Fairfax Housing Limited.
Over the six years with Buckinghamshire Housing Association, he gained considerable knowledge of social housing and housing association matters and used his expertise in directing/guiding the Board through changing and challenging times.
Roger looks forward to using his knowledge and expertise in moving forward with the Fairfax subsidiary companies of Fairhive Housing Limited.
Charles Brooks - Co-optee Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
Charles is the Consulting Director and founding partner which formed 3C Consultants in 2015. 3C is now the largest independent consultancy practice operating in the housing sector and since 2018 have also been operating in the charity sector.
Charles is highly motivated with over thirty years work experience to more than one hundred different organisations. Charles has considerable experience in acting as a critical friend to boards and executive teams, providing strategic direction and guidance for target operating models, digital transformation, and mergers and acquisitions to ensure successful delivery and benefits realisation.
Charles has completed the London Marathon nine times raising over £70k for Leukaemia charities and hoping to complete his tenth in April 2023.
