Thrive Homes appoints former CItizen COO as its new chair

Thrive Homes has announced the appointment of Kate Still as its new chair.

The 5,500-home provider, which manages stock across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire, has hired Still, who is currently chief executive of consultancy Recensere Associates after previously serving in senior roles for various housing associations.

Still was previously the chief operating officer at Castleoak, a Wales-based later living development company.

Before that she was chief operating officer at Citizen, where she was involved in bringing the 30,000-home federated housing group under one single operating model and ensuring the whole organisation met regulatory compliance.

Still also spent six years at the housing and care provider, Sanctuary. As national housing operations director, she oversaw operations for its portfolio of 80,000 social homes.

>> See also: Non-compliant A2Dominion drafts two housing association bosses on to its board

>> See also: Two Rivers Housing appoints deputy CEO

Thrive Homes in 2022/23 acquired 500 homes, taking its total stock to 5,780, a 38% growth in 15 years.

Still grew up on Hemel Hempstead’s Highfield Estate and has 25 years of lived experience in social housing, which she says has allowed her to maintain a tenant-focused perspective throughout her career.

She holds an MSc in urban and regional planning from the London School of Economics, where she focused her research on the impact of social housing on mental health and educational outcomes.

As chair, she will lead the board and chairs’ group. A Thrive Homes spokesperson said this will help the landlord deliver its commitment to increasing housing availability and affordability across some of the UK’s most expensive regions.

Kate Still, chair, Thrive Homes said: “I am thrilled to become Chair of Thrive Homes and relish the challenge of helping the organisation to drive forward its mission of improving access to affordable housing in some of the least affordable parts of the UK.

”Thrive Homes is well known for its commitment to quality and innovation – and it is the organisation’s clarity of product, commitment to community, and vision for the future that made me want to take up this role. High-quality homes provide the foundation for good lives and thriving families, so I am looking forward to supporting the organisation as it continues to evolve and grow”.