Meet the board

Piers brings a wealth of experience as both a Chair and a Non-Executive Director, having filled almost 40 senior board positions in a career spanning more than 30 years. This includes senior leadership in several charitable and not-for-profit organisations, including Croydon College, BRE Group, NHS Blood and Transplant and in the housing sector through The Hyde Group and currently Halesworth Ltd.

Tracy is passionate about the role housing associations can play within society. She is a finance director by profession, with an early career spanning the charity and commercial sectors. She has a track record in leading organisations through tough times, creating a compelling vision, gaining buy in to change and working through others to achieve an organisation’s potential. Tracy has held senior roles including Deputy CEO at The Hyde Group, Finance Director at Origin Housing and Non-Executive roles with St Mungo’s, a leading homelessness charity and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Angela is a tenant board member and sits on the Communities and Housing Committee. She was on the tenant scrutiny panel for West Kent. She is an ex-councillor for Sevenoaks District Council and is an active member for 38Degrees. She has volunteered as an adviser at the Swanley Citizens Advice Bureau and volunteered for the British Red Cross. She studied hotel catering and industrial management and worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years. Angela is an active campaigner for human rights worldwide.

Alex is Chair of the Investment and Finance Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Alex has had a career for more than 25 years in law, banking and investments. He recently left his executive career to pursue a non-executive, portfolio career and now sits on the boards of several companies and non-profit organisations. In his last executive role, Alex was a Senior Advisor to the CEO and Senior Managing Director at an international infrastructure investor, where he held leadership roles in project finance, new markets, strategy, partnerships, Latin America and Europe. He covered a range of sectors within the infrastructure and energy areas including real estate development, affordable and social housing, and retirement living.

Abdool is a member of the Communities and Housing, and Remuneration and Appointments Committees. Abdool has a broad understanding of the Housing Sector gained from roles in local authorities, the Audit Commission and Swale Borough Council as CEO. He also had previous non-executive director roles with Folio (a Nottinghill Genesis subsidiary), Solace, Tower Hamlets ALMO. He’s currently at the National Audit Office with a portfolio that covers DLUHC, DHSC and DfE, leading on both financial audit and value for money reviews and their People programme. Abdool is also a strategic adviser to the Wales Centre for Public Policy.

Akin is a board member with a development interest and sits on the Investment and Finance Committee. Akin is a chartered surveyor by background, currently leading for the NHS on the £200m built environment and technical aspects of the St Pancras Development Project. He has over 24 years’ experience of delivering major regeneration and housing development programmes across the UK, working with Homes England and Housing and sector leading Housing Associations. He is currently a non-executive director for First Wave Housing.

Kevin is a board member with a IT/digital interest and sits on the Investment and Finance Committee and Remuneration and Appointments Committee. Kevin is seasoned IT Director and CIO with experience of organisations from privately-held, to non-profit and the public sector, leading and driving digital change and ensuring the IT strategy enables the strategic ambitions. Currently partner with the advisory firm, Gartner and before that IT Director, Clarion Group. He is currently deputy chair and trustee for the West Kent based charity Domestic Abuse Volunteer Support Services.

Ben is a tenant board member and sits on the Communities and Housing Committee. Ben is an Ordained Minister, affiliated to the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, and is Senior Minister at The Elim Church in Swanley and Lead Chaplin at Ellenor Hospice, Gravesend. He is also involved in a number of community projects which include ‘Who Let the Dads Out’, which supports fathers and their children and gives dads a chance to connect with other dads, and Area Co-ordinator for Christian Vision for Men; a national men’s ministry. Ben sits on the Faith Panel at Radio Kent from time-to-time. He is a Trustee of Swanley and District Foodbank and he pioneered the budding U-Grow Seed-to-Plate Food project which teaches members of the community to grow, harvest and cook their food.

Dr Jo Simpson is the Chair of the Communities and Housing Committee. Jo is the managing director of Jo Simpson Research (JSR), a research consultancy specialising in property and development research. Jo works for a range of clients including; Moat Housing, Clarion, Orbit Homes, The Aster Group, Countryside Properties, City & Country, Crest Nicholson, Trenport Investments, Hollamby Estates PLC and Crawley Borough Council. Before founding JSR, Jo was head of group strategic research for Countryside Properties and a director for a Kent based market research company. Jo also regularly teaches masterclasses in research methods at Anglia Ruskin University for the MSc/PhD students.

Megan is a tenant board member and sits on the Communities and Housing Committee. Having grown up and lived in a West Kent property all of her life, Megan brings a valuable insight into the Board and the opportunity to input and have a part in helping to shape West Kent’s future. Megan is an actor and was able to benefit from West Kent’s Rising Star Bursary which paid for her drama lessons which led to her gaining a drama scholarship to attend Sevenoaks School. Megan is now keen to encourage others into the performing arts sector. Having taken part in one of the photography courses provided by West Kent, Megan is eager to spread awareness of the amazing community projects available. Megan is also a founding member of She Wolves Theatre Company, a professional company of young actors and producers seeking to subvert classical female narratives through current, cutting-edge theatre. They donate all the money from their programs to the ‘My Body Back' programme, a charity that supports women after sexual assault.

Janet Eilbeck is the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and Remuneration and Appointments Committee and brings significant experience to those roles. Janet is a chartered accountant with more than 40 years’ experience. She was an assurance partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) until 2011, specializing in government and the broader public sector, including wide experience of external and internal audit, financial accounting advice and risk management and has an expertise in pensions. She chaired PwC’s two legacy staff pension schemes for 9 years until December 2019 and following her retirement from the firm she became the first chair of the Internal Audit Standards Advisory Board (IASAB), and the independent financial expert for the Department for Education, until December 2016. Janet was appointed by the Public Accounts Commission as a non-executive member of the NAO board in October 2016 and was re-appointed to the role in October 2019 for a final three-year term.