“The problem with me is that I can never stop, because I never feel like I’ve done enough – it’s a strange mindset,” confides Elly Hoult. She is speaking just days after becoming president of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

For somebody who already is a major figure in the social housing sector, this may be a surprising comment. Hoult is just 44 years old but has held multiple senior positions in the sector.

She has completed two degrees in her spare time and last year rose to the role of deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at housing association giant Peabody. And all of this is in addition to her CIH duties too, of course.

Early career

It says a lot about how driven the high-flying Hoult is that she always seems anxious to do more. It also hints at a restlessness born out of a constant desire to prove herself, more of which she discusses later.