Paul Fiddaman and Emma Palmer have been appointed to the board to help A2Dominion improve its governance after breaching regulatory standard
Paul Fiddaman, chief executive of Karbon Homes, and Emma Palmer, CEO of Eastlight Community Homes, have both been appointed to A2Dominion’s board as the 38,000-home association seeks to regain complaince with a regulatory standard.
Palmer will join the group board and become the new chair of the customer service committee. Fiddaman will also be on the group board, as well as joining the finance committee.
A2Dominion was placed on the Regulator of Social Housing’s grading under review list in September last year. Following an investigation, in January 2024, A2Dominion’s governance status was downgraded to G3, which indicates non-compliance with the regulator’s governance and financial viability standard.
An A2Dominion spokesperson said that Fiddaman and Palmer have been appointed to the board “because they have the specific set of skills that we needed to achieve effective governance and improvements”.
The spokesperson added that A2Dominion aims to regain compliance with the regulator’s governance standard, and the appointments are part of the overall strategy.
In January, the RSH expressed its concerns regarding A2Dominion’s risk management, internal control and assurance framework. It said it lacked confidence in the effectiveness of A2Dominion’s risk management practices, and that it has failed to manage key risks effectively, which has resulted in some poor outcomes for tenants.
In November 2023, the London housing association, which owns over 38,000 homes also announced changes to its executive structure, in a drive to improve its customer service.
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These changes followed the Housing Ombudsman’s findings regarding damp and mould issues in A2Dominion properties.
The 38,000-home landlord has decided to split its executive director of operations role into two, creating a new chief property officer and chief customer officer role.
lmer was chief executive of Greenfields Community Housing before its merger with Colne Housing to become Eastlight in July 2020.
She has worked across various housing associations and local authorities, including East Thames, Estuary Housing Association and Moat.
Palmer is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and was appointed chair of BuildEast last week.
On her appointment, Palmer said: “Focusing on enhancing services for our residents and ensuring their voice is heard in the boardroom is my priority. I’m thrilled to be able to play a pivotal role by becoming a member of the board and the chair of the customer services committee.”
Fiddaman was chief executive of the Isos group prior to the creation of Karbon Homes.
He is a chartered accountant and has held senior positions at Cestria Housing, Fabrick Housing Group, Enterprise 5 and Sunderland FC.
He is the current chair of the Northern Housing Consortium, and the North-east Housing Partnership.
Fiddaman said: “I’m delighted to be joining A2Dominion and I look forward to working with colleagues on the Group Board and Finance Committee to deliver positive outcomes for all our residents.”
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