Sarah Thomas has been announced as the new chief executive of South-West London housing provider RHP Group and joins the organisation at the start of April next year.
Sarah has extensive experience in the housing sector, with over 11 years at the executive level. Sarah joins RHP from her current role as a chief operating officer at Peabody, one of the UK’s largest housing associations. She previously worked as interim chief executive at Catalyst, joining them as chief operating officer in 2019.
Before roles in housing, Sarah worked in the commercial sector, including over eight years of experience at a senior level at Eurostar. Sarah has a strong track record in strategic leadership, transformation, performance, and customer experience. In addition to her accomplishments in large, complex organisations in both the housing and private sectors, Sarah has also held two non-executive roles in housing.
Sarah returns to RHP after seven years, having previously held the role of executive director of Customer Services at the organisation.
Sarah said: “RHP has a talented team which has always put people first and sought to deliver the best for their customers. I am delighted to be joining as chief executive and building on David and the team’s many achievements and legacy. I look forward to working with the board and RHP’s colleagues and residents to continue this momentum so that we can navigate the current headwinds to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction and business performance.”
The news comes after a robust and competitive recruitment process that involved RHP’s Board, customers, employees and other key stakeholders.
Keith Jenkins, RHP’s interim chair of the board, said: “We are delighted to be making this appointment at such an important time for RHP. With Sarah’s experience of both social housing and the commercial sector, I am confident she has the qualities to lead the Group to even more success. Both the Board and I are looking forward to working with her”.
Sarah will replace RHP’s long-standing chief executive David Done OBE, who will leave in March 2023 after 22 successful years leading the organisation. David is looking forward to working as a non-executive director and advisor with other like-minded organisations.
Sarah will join RHP during an exciting period as they prepare to transition to a new repairs partner in June 2023. They are using this milestone moment as a catalyst for their transformation programme, which is bringing people, processes and technology together to provide homes and services that meet the diverse needs of their customers and employees.
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