Meet the executive team

Ian brings over 25 years' experience in the housing sector, joining West Kent from his role as Chief Investment Officer at Platform Housing Group, where he was responsible for c50,000 homes. He previously spent a decade as an executive at The Guinness Partnership and 14 years at KPMG LLP, working with a wide range of housing associations and not-for-profit organisations. Ian is a chartered accountant and has deep expertise in strategic leadership, service delivery, investment and asset management, and financial governance. He brings not only extensive sector experience but also a strong passion for people and communities. He is committed to delivering high-quality homes and services that make a positive difference in residents' lives, and to ensuring that the voices of our customers, colleagues, and partners shape how this is done.

Maria has over 15 years’ experience working in several senior finance roles across housing and the wider public sector, including local government, regeneration, and health. She is responsible for business planning, treasury and financial management, rents & service charges, procurement, risk management, governance, communications and human resources. Maria has held senior roles including Deputy Director of Finance for Raven Housing Trust and has been a trustee of several charities, most recently Croydon Plus Credit Union. Maria is a qualified accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Barbara is a change professional who has both the customer and staff at the heart of what she does. She is responsible for planning and driving delivery of our ambitious strategic plan and the business performance and project management functions. Barbara brings a wealth of experience, with a background in retail operations and property services for major retailers John Lewis, Waitrose and Sainsburys. She has held senior roles leading on business change, strategic planning, and programme delivery at Tui and most recently at Hyde Housing Group.

Neil has over two decades of experience in the housing and commercial sector. Neil is a skilled strategic leader and service delivery specialist. He is responsible for strategic asset management, our property management services including building safety, our office portfolio and iNHomes, our in-house gas and plumbing team. Neil has worked in various senior-level positions, with significant responsibilities for large contracts and budgets. He has held leadership roles at Orbit, Carillion Energy Services, and British Gas. He also served as Partnerships Director at 4i Solutions, where he provided consultancy support to the housing sector, including G15 and Kent-based peers. He is the Chair of the Kent Housing Asset management subgroup, Chair of the South East Consortium and a board member for the Bowles Rock Charity. Neil leads, at board level, on health and safety and building safety compliance.

Anabel has a commitment to building homes and communities that our residents are proud to live in. She is responsible for securing our pipeline of new homes development, options appraisal for our existing portfolio and stock transfer opportunities. Anabel also leads, at board level, on building safety and compliance (the designated lead for health and safety is a separate role undertaken at operational level). She has a background in housing development, regeneration and social impact and started her career as a lawyer specialising in building litigation. Anabel has held senior roles at director level at Southern Housing encompassing social and economic regeneration, community investment and housing for older people and Non-Executive roles with St Martin of Tours Housing Association and Sure Start Hackney.

Trafford brings extensive leadership experience across the social housing and telecommunications sectors, with a strong track record of leading large-scale transformation programmes, improving customer experience and driving operational excellence. He is passionate about using digital innovation to enhance services and has successfully delivered business transformation, integration and customer-focused change throughout his career. As Interim Director, Trafford is responsible for leading our customer services, housing, lettings and income teams, as well as supporting our wider transformation programme. He will play a key role in advancing our digital services, including the customer portal and other initiatives that improve how we interact with and support our residents. Trafford has held senior leadership and Managing Director-level positions in complex, multi-functional organisations, leading business growth, digital transformation and service improvements across both business-to-consumer and business-to-business environments. He is known for his collaborative, people-focused leadership style and his ability to build engaged, high-performing teams while delivering lasting organisational change.