Meet the Board
Andrew is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (FCIPD); he’s experienced senior HR practitioner with a background in private, public sector and not-for-profit organisations. Andrew’s knowledge and experience makes him our natural Board Champion for Taff’s people and culture, and a mentor to newly appointed Board Members. You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.
Andrew believes that putting people first leads to better businesses; his personal mission is to “Make work more human”. Andrew founded and leads The Spark Company, an independent consultancy firm based in Cardiff.
Andrew has led significant change projects, restructures, mergers and acquisitions, culture change and other transformational programmes. Andrew is fanatical about lifelong learning and can often be found reading a book, journal or the latest workplace research.
Andrew spends his free time walking Brody (energetic Labrador) through the woods and trails of Porthkerry Park or along the beaches of Barry Island. Andrew enjoys sport and fitness; he’s rumoured to be a distinctly average loosehead prop and is definitely a fair-weather cyclist. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, Andrew is a foodie; enough said!
Susan has spent over 20 years in public health in the NHS, local government and charity sector. She is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and has an MBA. She is currently Deputy Director of Public Health for North Northamptonshire Council.
Susan’s career has focused on leading programmes to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities and reduce inequalities. She is skilled in building partnerships with organisation from different sectors to develop these programmes.
She has extensive experience of developing and implementing strategy, using evidence and intelligence to drive decision making, influencing policy, organisational development, performance management and business planning.
Outside of work Susan is focused on spending time with her family, playing the piano and violin, and attempting triathlons.
Peter joined the Board of Taff Housing in May 2022. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), with an Economics degree from Aberystwyth University.
Peter has held a number of senior posts during his career. He is currently Chief Finance Officer for the South Wales Police & Crime Commissioner. This is a statutory position which supports the Commissioner in ensuring best value is secured from South Wales Police’s funding. Prior to this, Peter was Director of Finance & Corporate Services at Sport Wales, the Government agency responsible for promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.
Previous roles have included Director of Finance at Aberystwyth University. Before moving to Aberystwyth, Peter was the Vice Principal (Resources) at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he oversaw the merger with the then University of Glamorgan and project managed a significant building project which saw the College acquire stunning, RIBA-award winning, new facilities.
Peter was also Assistant Director of Finance at Cardiff Metropolitan University and started his career as a trainee accountant at Cardiff City Council.
In addition to his substantive roles, Peter also holds a number of non-executive positions. He is a Trustee of Action for Children, chairing its Finance Committee and Welsh Advisory Committee. He is a Trustee of National Youth Arts Wales and chairs its Finance Sub-Committee. He is an independent member of the Audit & Risk Committee of Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, which is the body responsible for promoting teaching and research in universities through the medium of Welsh. Finally, he is a non-executive Board member of Team Police Ltd which is the fundraising arm of Police Sport UK.
Peter is an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
Graeme currently works for Handelsbanken Cardiff, having previously been employed at RBS / NatWest for over 19 years.
He has worked with property and trading businesses in various sectors, with turnovers ranging from c£0.25m to c£100m and has supported customers in growing, selling and exiting.
In addition, he has lead the NatWest Commercial and Corporate team for South East Wales, based out of Cardiff.
He is a Chartered Fellow of the London Institute of Banking & Finance having completed a MSc in Banking, Finance and Management in 2019.
He has previously served on the Board as Treasurer of another Welsh Housing Association and is a Welsh Government Business Mentor.
Living near the coast, Graeme enjoys walking, cycling and spending time with family and friends.
Chris is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has over 20 years experience working in housing. Prior to this, he worked in finance and customer service sectors.
He is currently the Strategy and Business Intelligence Manager at Newport City Homes with responsibility for overseeing the association’s strategic and corporate planning, risk management and internal audit functions. Chris also brings experience in business planning, value for money and performance improvement. Chris has a masters degree in Housing from Cardiff University.
Chris is passionate about deigning services to meet the needs of residents and placing residents at the heart of every decision that is made. He also believes that housing associations are so much more than just a landlord.
Chris is a member of Taff’s Audit & Risk Committee.
A resident of Canton, Chris is a lifelong Cardiff City fan and also enjoys travelling and cooking. On most weekends he can be found cycling the roads of Cardiff, the Vale and the valleys.
With a varied career including nearly 10 years in the British Army, Stewart has been working in the field of technology and Social Housing since the late 1990’s. Stewart’s roles have included leading Product, Sales and Marketing teams, in large corporate software enterprises, as well as business development, strategic partnerships, in start-ups and Small to Medium Enterprise’s. Stewart is passionate about how technology can be a force for positive change and through various projects he has been able to inform, educate and implement new technologies to improve the lives of tenants and residents across the UK.
Geraint has over 25 years of experience as an IT support, network management, Information- and Cyber- Security specialist, and uses his knowledge and skills to help people improve their business by providing sound advice and guidance without product- or technology-driven motive. His goal is to provide customers with the knowledge and opportunity to do what’s right for them rather than pushing the profits of a technology product vendor.
An advocate of a holistic approach to information security, Geraint recognises that while technology has its place, it shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of security and digital transformation. “Tech” should fundamentally be used as a tool to aid in the delivery of robust processes and sound policies. Technical changes should be designed and built in conjunction with positive business-wide engagement to ensure broad ownership and shared responsibility for transformation and improvement outcomes.
Geraint has worked for and with organisations of varying sizes…anything from micro-business startups through to large multi-million £ corporates, and both small- and large-scale local and national government programmes.
Regardless of product/service, operational size or market sector of a business, Geraint firmly believes that an organisation’s people are at the heart of its security and operating securely and safely in a digitally enabled world is everyone’s business.
Born and raised in Cardiff and the surrounding area, attending Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, Geraint lives with his wife and son. His interests include digital art and design, music, and a range of sporting activities including walking up mountains, skiing/snowboarding down mountains, skating and ice hockey. A former recreational player, he’s a Cardiff Devils season-ticket holder, and enjoys spending many hours at the rink down the Bay…especially now that his son has started playing for the Junior Devils.
Yvonne has qualifications in Leadership and Management and has over 12 years of experience working in the third sector including five years as Regional Manager for Wales at one of the largest homelessness and supported accommodation charities in the UK.
She is passionate about place-based responses to opportunities and challenges within our communities and in particular, the role housing and support can play in enabling everyone to feel safe, secure, and able to succeed.
Yvonne is currently an Area Lead for UK Government working on the Levelling Up programme in Wales.
When not working Yvonne has a busy family life and enjoys regular trips back to Ireland where she grew up.
Jason has worked in the Health and Social care sector for over 15 years and is passionate about making a difference to people’s lives by ensuring services are focused on supporting people to lead flourishing lives.
Jason started his career as an apprentice in an NHS criminal Justice service and has since worked in a range of frontline and leadership roles and is currently the Assistant director of Support for Pobl. In addition Jason is currently a non-executive director for Llais: Your Voice for Health and Social Care and has previously been a director for a social enterprise and a board member for Cymorth. In his spare time he loves spending time with his family as well as training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Tracey has spent over 30 years in Local Government managing and leading various services, including Housing, Customer Services, Environment and Leisure. Tracey set up the Bristol Waste Company with the City Council as the shareholder, focusing on Bristol Wasting nothing and working with communities to keep Bristol clean whilst increasing recycling and reuse.
Tracey now runs her business coaching and mentoring business helping SMEs, focusing on purpose, leadership, and customer services. She also ensures she has more time to learn new things and enjoy life.
Andrew lives in the Vale of Glamorgan and is married with two grown up children and three grandchildren.
Andrew is a chartered surveyor and has been involved in the construction industry for over 40 years. During this time he has worked for national contractors, consultant practices and for Tai Cymru.
Andrew has a breadth of knowledge and experience having worked specifically in the housing sector for over 25 years.
Previously Andrew held the post of Director for a Cardiff based Housing Association with responsibility for Asset Management and a significant Development programme. Andrew is currently director of his own property consultancy company.
Andrew is passionate about making a positive difference to people’s lives and believes that delivering good quality housing and services makes a crucial contribution to peoples wellbeing.
In his spare time Andrew is a keen golfer and enjoys socialising with friends and family.
Naomi is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has over 18 years’ experience in the Social Housing Sector. After achieving her Post Graduate Diploma in Housing and Professional Practice, she has worked in both operational and strategic roles in the Welsh, English and New Zealand Housing sectors.
She is passionate about housing and has spent time raising money and doing volunteer work with communities in Tanzania.
Naomi has recently moved into project management following her experience of delivering projects and services within the housing sector in New Zealand and the UK. She is passionate about achieving successful project delivery and wanted to further expand on her project management skills.
Naomi brings experience in tenancy management, shared ownership, and leasehold management, tenancy support, emergency housing, programme and project management.
When she isn’t working, she enjoys long walks with her partner and their two dogs Welly and Max.
Princess is a marketing strategist with a passion for making positive impact in the community. She has an MBA in marketing from University of Wales, Cardiff and 15 years’ experience in marketing and customer service sectors. She is a proud advocate of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as well as a certified STEM ambassador. She has just completed her role as an observer on POBL Housing Association Board as part of the Pathway to Board programme. She is a pilot member of the Black Activist Development Programme of the TUC. Princess is on the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. She is committed to contributing towards a fairer, more equal and progressive Wales.