CLWYDALYN - Key Persons
Joined Armed Forces 1985 and was a Firearms Instructor for 7 years, Ran a successful landscaping business for 20 years. Volunteered at Army Cadets as a Military Instructor for 2 years.
Joined ClwydAlyn January 2022. I have leadership, management, and delegation qualifications/skills.
Ashley works on the maintenance side of ClwydAlyn as a cleaner/ window cleaner. He has worked for ClwydAlyn for 6 years. Ashley has a partner and four children and currently lives in a Rent to Buy Scheme. He enjoys playing football in his spare time and being the best version of himself.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Member of the Assurance Committee
- Programme Manager in the Good Practice Team at Audit Wales
Bethan joined the ClwydAlyn Board in September 2023. Bethan is the Programme Manager in the Good Practice Team at Audit Wales. The role of the team is to improve public services. Bethan has over 15 years' experience of working in the public sector in Wales, having previously worked in various roles across Social Services for Adults and Children at Flintshire County Council.
Job Titles:
- Board Member, Resident Committee Vice Chair and Member of the Property Committee
Brian has had a long interest in Social Housing: his parents lived in a council house for many happy years. He returned to Social Housing over 25 years ago when he became a tenant of ClwydAlyn.
Brian had a varied career, spanning the oil industry, licensed trade, financial services and IT, also having a spell in the early nineties as a volunteer for the CAB. Brian acquired many skills during this journey, including the ability to listen and talk to people.
Brian is on the Vice Chair of the Resident Committee and also sits on the Property Committee.
Carol has been a ClwydAlyn Resident for 13 years and prior to joining the Resident Committee, attended Resident meetings to represent the Halkyn Road Estate. Carol enjoys learning from a Residents' perspective how new build properties are addressing environmental issues and how ClwydAlyn are helping address fuel and food poverty.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Executive Board
I have worked in Local Government and Housing Associations for all my career and have lots of voluntary experience in the charity and social enterprise sector. I am qualified to post graduate level and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing. I Chair 2025, (a movement established to end avoidable health inequality in North Wales); and am a member of the Welsh Government Ending Homelessness National Advisory Board. I am an Associate Member of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales and I am Chair of the North Wales and Mersey Dee Business Council. I am passionate about ending poverty and inequality, and I get angry that where you live, or are born, still affects life outcomes so much. I am proud to be Welsh. I am a mum of four; living in the community where I grew up. I feel lucky, that I have been able to live the life I choose, and I want to do what I can to make sure others can too. Read my bio
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Development
Craig started his career in housing in 1986 when he joined ClwydAlyn Housing Association as a trainee and has now gained over 30 years of experience in the sector.
He managed the development function until leaving in 2008 returning to the company as Corporate Director in 2017. Craig has been responsible in his career for many major development projects across the North Wales region, active and well known in most strategic circles he is presently pursuing the Groups' development ambitions. Educated at the North East Wales Institute and Liverpool John Moores University, Craig graduated with BA Hons in Housing Studies.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Vice - Chair of the People Committee / Board Member TirTai and PenArian
- Chief Financial Officer for Riverside
Cris McGuinness has recently been appointed as the new Chair of ClwydAlyn in September 2023. Cris is a KPMG trained Chartered Accountant who has spent her career to date working in social housing, with a couple of minor detours - one to work with asylum seekers and another to help expand public transport in Greater Manchester.
Cris is currently Chief Financial Officer for Riverside where she has been responsible for all things finance and development since 2018.
Originally from South Wales, Cris is passionate about equality, diversity and making a positive difference where she can.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Asset Management
After successfully completing his apprenticeship and being awarded ‘Apprentice of the Year' David changed career paths to asset management, where he experienced various roles from Technical Inspector, Contract Management and supervision roles overseeing a small trades team before being appointed as Building Services Manager in March 2012.
In late 2014, David became the Managing Director of PenAlyn a newly formed specialist in house maintenance company with over 90+ staff overseeing the delivery of maintenance services for ClwydAlyn bringing inhouse additional work streams such as the gas servicing and the cleaning contract.
In 2015, David was appointed Executive Director of Assets overseeing the specialist inhouse maintenance company, Asset Management and compliance delivery.
As well as gaining front-line and strategic management experience at senior levels within the social housing sector, he has also gained a 2.1 BSc in Building Maintenance Management and holds qualifications in NEBOSH Health & Safety, Fire, Environmental, Asbestos Management P405 and Legionella Responsible Persons. He continues to explore further learning opportunities to deal with legislative changes.
He is a member of CIWFM and actively participates in national forums and localised focus groups around the de-carbonisation agenda and is passionate about making a difference for environmental challenges and supports volunteering initiatives.
He is currently interim Managing Director of Onnen our newly formed Joint Venture with another North Wales based social landlord to deliver our decarb programme.
David has been a resident of ClwydAlyn for 14 years once he retired from work. He has been taking interest in his community and seven years ago, he became Chair of the Sheltered Housing Umbrella Group, and he tries to take an active part in the community.
Job Titles:
- People Committee Member
- People Director for the Torus Group and Is Responsible for HR
Debbie joined the ClwydAlyn People Committee in 2019. Debbie is the People Director for the Torus Group and is responsible for HR and Organisational Development, Health, Safety and Environment, and Diversity and Inclusion.
Debbie brings a wealth of people and organisational capability, along with cultural transformation experience, Debbie gained in a range of senior leadership roles within Housing, Policing and the Civil Service and holds a master's in strategic human resources management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD).
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Care & Support and Executive Board Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Property Committee & People Committee
Eileen was a former Bank employee for 25 years. She has served on the National Executive Committee of the Bank's Staff Union and as a Town Councillor in Penmaenmawr.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of People, Comms and Marketing
I have been part of the ClwydAlyn senior leadership team for 7 years and joined the Executive team in 2018. Our mission ‘together to beat poverty' applies to our staff as well as our residents, providing an equal commitment in supporting residents to have access to a good quality affordable home and staff to have secure employment in a workplace where they can thrive. We have a range of workforce priorities which include having a flexible staff team earning market pay and supporting high levels of staff engagement. Over recent years, workplace wellbeing including our staff food offer and our work to become a trauma informed organisation have become increasingly important. I chair the People Strategic Delivery Group for CHC, our Housing Trade Body in Wales; I am also a Board Member of Tai Pawb, a Housing Equality Charity in Wales. Prior to joining ClwydAlyn, I worked for an organisation that supported people with learning disabilities to live independently. What became increasingly clear to me was the impact housing and support had on peoples' ability to live independently, which in turn affected their confidence to learn and grow. This led me to make a move into Social Housing; prior to this I have been fortunate to work within both the public and private sectors. Read my bio
Job Titles:
- Board Member / ClwydAlyn Vice - Chair and Chair of the Property Committee
- Managing Director of Starts
- Member of the Greater Manchester Mayor 's Social Enterprise Advisory Panel
Hayley joined the ClwydAlyn Board in July 2021.
Hayley is Managing Director of Starts with you, a Housing Association subsidiary Social Enterprise. She is passionate about doing business responsibly and enabling people and places to make positive change.
She has almost 30 years experience in the Housing and Social Enterprise sector, working her way from Development Officer to Director of Regeneration in Housing, running her own regeneration consultancy and as MD of Starts with you.
Hayley is also a member of the Greater Manchester Mayor's Social Enterprise Advisory Panel and Trustee of GM Chamber's newly created Communities Foundation.
Job Titles:
- CTO of SudoCyber
- Member of the Assurance Committee
Jason is the CTO of SudoCyber, a gamified learning platform used by the military, police, academia, and industry. Jason is also co-founder of Cyber Wales and has been developing secure web applications and advising companies on their Cyber Security for over 20 years. After spending his early years in the military, Jason went on to set up and run his own business in Wales. He is passionate about helping to spread best practise and real-world solutions to cyber challenges and believes that ‘secure' should not mean ‘complex'.
Jason's passion for both Cyber and Wales led him to co-found the Cyber Wales Ecosystem in 2014 which now totals over 2,700 Members with international collaborations across more than 30 countries. Jason is also an NCSCi100 Secondee and also a Cyber First Ambassador as well as a Police Cyber Volunteer and a Specialist Reserve Officer in the British Army.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Assurance Committee
- Service Manager at Flintshire County Council
Jen joined the Clwyd Alyn Assurance Committee in September 2023. Jen is a Service Manager at Flintshire County Council with responsibility for Housing, welfare and communities. Jen has worked in local government for over 30 years and has a wide range of experience in Housing, Poverty, systems leadership and partnership working.
Laura joined the Board in January 2023 after securing a pathway role through Chwarae Teg which is an organisation set up to ensure that women in Wales can develop their skills and build rewarding careers.
As a PRINCE2 Practitioner, Laura has an extensive background in public sector Programme Management, leading on key programmes in Social Care, Central Governance, Transport and Education across the Region.
Having qualified as a Business Advisor, Laura has been supporting and advising businesses for over 20 years through Welsh Government contracts and as the Regional Investment Manager at Development Bank of Wales. Laura continues to support businesses as a Business Wales Mentor with specialisms in Business Planning, Investment readiness and on-line business building.
Laura completed her degree in Business at Glamorgan University (now University of South Wales), and her Masters in Leadership and Management at Bangor University.
Born on Anglesey, Laura is a fluent Welsh speaker and has recently secured a position in Welsh Government as the Pan-Wales Business Stakeholder Lead.
Job Titles:
- Procurement Leader
- Property Committee Member
Michael is a procurement leader who has over 20 years' experience in both the public and private sector. Michael has extensive experience in Housing, the NHS, education, consultancy, and the nuclear industry. Michael's notable achievements are setting up strategic procurement functions within a greenfield Housing environment, to deliver bottom line cash savings and Social Value.
Michael holds two degrees and is a fully qualified chartered professional, having worked numerous times with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of TirTai, ClwydAlyn Board Member and Member of the Assurance Committee
Nia joined the ClwydAlyn Board in August 2019. Nia also sits on the TirTai Board and the PenArian Board.
Nia started her career in audit and tax at PWC and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Accountants. In 2015 Nia also became an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasures.
After leaving PWC in 2010, Nia worked for US owned companies in the automotive and medical industries, gaining broad experience across all areas of international finance including merger and acquisitions and commercial contract management. In 2014, Nia moved into the housing sector as Assistant Director of Finance at Muir Group before becoming Director of Finance at a Liverpool based Association. In 2021, Nia returned to Muir Group as Executive Director of Resources, with responsibility for finance, Treasury, ICT and business transformation. Nia has held non-Executive Director positions for over 5 years at North Wales Housing Association.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Property Services at Muir Group Housing
- Property Committee Member
Nik is currently the Assistant Director of Property Services at Muir Group Housing. He is responsible for all aspects of the Property functions and is a member of the Groups Joint Leadership Team.
Nik has over 15 years' experience in the sector having previously worked in a North Wales Local Authority leading various Housing departments and delivering multiple change and improvement programmes.
With a real passion for the Housing sector and as an experienced Asset and Property professional he strongly believes that through delivering and maintaining good quality homes and neighbourhoods this plays a key role in supporting the quality of life customers experience.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Non - Executive Director
- Board Member of Magenta Living
- Executive Director of Resources
Paul grew up in North Wales and began his career with Wrexham Council where he qualified as a Chartered Public Finance Accountant.
He then went on to work for various large public bodies in England, where he also obtained a Master's degree in Business Administration, before returning to Wales as Head of Finance and Assets at Denbighshire County Council. He managed the Council's financial affairs, its property portfolio of business units, land, farms, and public buildings and was head of the Council's housing department. During this time, he also worked on high profile projects including construction of new schools, a new harbour and bridge in Rhyl and a new hotel and restaurant development.
He then became Director of Resources at Adra, a registered social landlord that manages 6,300 homes in North West Wales, before moving to become a director of ClwydAlyn Housing in 2019.
Paul is a non-executive director and chair of the finance and governance committee, of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, a subsidiary of Denbighshire County Council that provides health, wellbeing and leisure services to residents and visitors. He was recently appointed to the board of WellFed Ltd, a food production company that is part of a charity dedicated to reducing food poverty in North Wales.
Paul is also a board member of Magenta Living, a housing association based in Birkenhead that provides over 12,000 social houses for rent in Wirral and Cheshire along with extra care and support.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Chair of Resident Committee and Member of the Assurance Committee
In his previous employment, Peter worked as a Senior Manager involved in Retail Development. The job involved acquiring and developing sites, bringing the new store to the point of opening. In later years, he became a Private Hospital Manager, responsible for budgets, staff, and accounting.
Peter believes this experience will be useful as he can see a balanced view of various issues and he's able to see the big picture, offering logical thinking processes. Peter has a desire to improve the lives of tenants.
Job Titles:
- Business Manager at Maximus UK
- Member of the Resident Committee
Rachel is a Business Manager at Maximus UK, dedicated to breaking down employment barriers and facilitating sustainable employment. Covering North Wales on
behalf of the DWP, our mission is to assist individuals in finding employment, accessing support, and fostering happiness and success in their workplace and community. Rachel joined the Resident Committee in September 2023
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Chair Assurance Committee
Rob joined the Board in August 2019. Rob has spent the majority of his career in the oil and gas and private finance initiative sectors before moving into Social Housing. Rob is the interim Director of Finance for Corporate Services for a supported living charity Norwood.
He has over 20 years' experience in commercial and financial roles and is responsible for finance, business improvement, ICT and enterprise and growth. He is a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Chair - People Committee
Roger Roger joined the Board in June 2020.
Roger works independently as part of Taith Ltd with a focus on stakeholder engagement, organizational development, and service review. He has also worked as an HMI (Her Majesty's Inspector) within Estyn, Senior Inspector with the Care Standard Inspectorate for Wales and Workforce Development Officer with the Care Council for Wales. Roger has a particular interest in strength-based approaches and is a member of the Association for Business Psychology. He has also written publications and guidance on Person-Centered Planning and Appreciative Inquiry.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Member of the People Committee
Sally joined the ClwydAlyn Board in September 2023. She has had a long career in the NHS and worked as a children's nurse in hospital and school settings across Conwy and Denbighshire prior to leading the equality and human rights agenda at the Health Board across North Wales.
Through this work Sally has worked with colleagues at an all-Wales level and in partnership with the public sector across North Wales. She maintains an awareness of the diversity of the local population and has worked with individuals and groups to better understand individual lived experience including the barriers experienced by some people. In particular the impact of poverty, increasing social issues and matters affecting local communities. Sally advocates for the importance of inclusion, valuing an individual's identity, demonstrating compassion, and making fair decisions.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Member of the Property Committee
Sandy joined the ClwydAlyn Board in July 2016 and is the former Assembly Member for Delyn, standing down after 13 years at the Senedd. During her time at the National Assembly, Sandy was involved in scrutinising the Welsh Government's Housing Legislation as Chair of the Communities and Culture Committee. She was also a Founding Member and Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Housing. Previously, Sandy was also an Assembly Commissioner with a wide corporate portfolio ranging from security to equalities.
Sandy has also worked as a journalist for many years as well as in education and the voluntary sector. She was, for more than 15 years, a Councillor in Wrexham, chairing the Social Services Committee, as an Executive Board Member and was Mayor in 2001/02. Sandy has also been a Home Office Appointee to the former North Wales Probation Board and is an Honorary Fellow at Wrexham Glyndwr University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Housing Services
- Executive Director of Housing Services
Suzanne joined ClwydAlyn in October 2018 having previously worked as the Homeless and Commissioning Manager for Flintshire County Council. Suzanne is passionate about preventing homelessness and working to improve services for the most vulnerable people in our communities. Initially joining ClwydAlyn as Head of Income and Service Improvement, Suzanne led on and implemented our aim to end evictions from social housing.
In September 2020 Suzanne was appointed Director of Housing Services with responsibility for Social and Affordable Housing Services, Rent Collection, Resident and Community Involvement and Customer Services. She is also a Board Member for Well-Fed, a food enterprise working to end food poverty across North Wales.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Member of the Property Committee
- National Framework Manager for Construction and Consultancy Services
Tania is a National Framework Manager for Construction and Consultancy Services working for Fusion21, as part of her role she manages the Youth Investment Fund Framework to provide procurement services to grant recipients of the Youth Investment Fund set up by Department of Culture Media and Sports.
Previously Tania led the North Wales Construction Partnership on behalf of the six North Wales Local Authorities. Tania specialises in the provision of compliant construction procurement for the public sector, supporting several organisations across the UK.