Abri appoints former head of housing at Clarion as new managing director for South region

Abri has hired Helen Wilson as the new regional managing director for the group’s recently created South region.

In the role, Wilson is responsible for more than 16,000 homes.

Wilson spent more than seven years at Clarion, initially joining as head of strategic partnerships and projects. Four years ago, she was promoted to head of housing at the housing association.

Prior to that, she was director of social value at Circle Housing, which owns 70,000 homes across the UK. 

Before working in the affordable housing sector, Wilson held positions in both local and central government, including Westminster City Council and the London Borough of Hounslow.

In October last year, Abri divided its operating area into three regions, South, South-east and South-west, each with its own local governance, leadership, and customer panels.

This move is part of Abri’s ‘large but local’ strategy, which the 35,000-home housing association says will enable it “to be closer to the communities it serves and to best meet local needs”.

>> See also: Abri confident of hitting 10,000-home target despite annual fall in completions

>> See also: Vistry to build 1,900 homes through new deals with Abri and Clarion

The South-east region is led by regional managing director Dasos Christou.

The area has already seen increased community investment and the establishment of a regional board, according to Abri.

Ralph Facey, executive director of operations at Abri, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Helen to Abri. Her strong track record of delivering quality housing services across London will help us to greater understand the needs of our customers in the south and make improvements in the areas that really matter to them. Her passion and commitment to the sector is evident and she shares Abri’s belief that a good quality, affordable home is the cornerstone to improving life chances.”

On her appointment, Wilson said: “I have always been passionate about helping to provide people with a safe and secure home, so it was important to me that my next role would allow me to continue to deliver services in line with these values.

”That’s why I’m pleased to be leading the rollout of Abri’s regional model in our south region. I can see already that Abri is committed to putting the customer at the centre of its work as the organisation grows, and I’ve seen the positive impact our regional model has had on our customers and community in the South-east. I’m looking forward to driving local positive outcomes for our customers in the south region.”