Places for People Group will welcome new Chair Richard Gregory OBE following the departure of longstanding incumbent Chris Phillips.
Having served on the Group Board for 14 years, 10 of them as Chair, Phillips will stand down on January 31 2021. Phillips oversaw progressive changes during his tenure, including welcoming Places Leisure to the Group and the expansion of its affordable homes businesses. Chris commented “I have found it a privilege to have been involved with the Group over the past 14 years most recently as Chairman I have enjoyed the support of my fellow directors, staff and stakeholders as we have worked together to improve the level and variety of services to our customers in an endeavour to deal with some of the housing and social problems which beset our nation I would like to wish all the team every success and look forward to watching the next phase of the Group’s development”
Places for People Group Chief Executive David Cowans said: “Chris has dedicated more than a decade to Places for People, and we cannot thank him enough for his hard work and guidance.
“Under Chris’ direction we’ve welcomed a number of businesses to the Group and we’ve significantly increased our presence in the affordable housing sector. As we bid Chris a fond farewell, we look forward to working with our new Chair. Richard brings with him significant experience and leadership, which will help to further strengthen our Board and drive forward our vision.”
Phillips will leave the Group on 31 January 2021 and is succeeded by Richard Gregory OBE. Richard is an experienced chair and non-executive director across private and public sectors. He is Senior Advisor to Virgin Money UK PLC, formerly the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group, where he was Senior Independent Director and Risk Committee Chair. He is also Chair of Together Personal Finance, the specialist lender.
Former roles include Chair of Chesterfield Royal Hospital FT, Interim Chair of Derbyshire Healthcare FT, Director of the Foundation Trust Network, Deputy Chair of the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, Chair of Science City York, Chair of Sheffield Hallam University and a board member of Business in the Community. His executive career was in ITV where he retired as Managing Director Broadcasting of Yorkshire Television. He was awarded an OBE in 2004.
Speaking of his appointment, Richard Gregory said: “As I take up the post we’ll be moving into a challenging commercial landscape, navigating our way through a post-COVID future; I look forward to taking our business forward through this with a commitment to creating more, much needed affordable homes across the country, and delivering on our vision of a zero-carbon future. I’m delighted to be joining an organisation with such a strong social purpose and impact”
