Riverside names Paul Dolan as new chief executive

Paul Dolan has been appointed chief executive of 75,000-home Riverside after Carol Matthews’ announcement in September that she would be retiring this year after 12 years in the role.

Dolan will join Riverside in May from 20,000-home housing association Accent Housing, where he has been the chief executive since 2017. Accent is based in Shipley, West Yorkshire and owns homes across the North, Midlands and South-east.

Before that, Dolan was chief executive at Johnnie Johnson Housing and Sadeh Lok Housing Group, now part of Incommunities.

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Riverside said that Dolan’s experience at Johnnie Johnson Housing, which specialises in housing for people aged over 55, will complement “the extensive care and support work” that Riverside does.

Dolan has also held several board and chair positions at Prospect Housing, the National Housing Federation, Yorkshire and Humberside, Liverpool Housing Trust and Berneslai Homes.

Terrie Alafat CBE, group chair of Riverside, said Dolan was ”the stand-out candidate in a strong field” and that he would ”bring a wealth of experience to Riverside, a passion for social housing, and a dedication to customer service”.

Dolan said he wanted to build on Matthews’ legacy “embracing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

“As I step into this new role, my commitment is to uphold the strong values and principles that have made Riverside a respected provider in the housing sector,” he said.

”By working alongside Riverside’s board and committees, colleagues, customers, and partners, I am eager to leverage our collective expertise to continue delivering great services and creating thriving communities as we work together to address the evolving needs of our residents.”