IRVINE HOUSING - Key Persons
Diana joined Riverside Scotland in 2021, with more than 20 years' experience in the housing sector.
Diana began her housing career as an Accommodation Officer at Napier university before moving to Scottish Borders Housing Association as Housing Manager. Since then she has held senior positions at a number of organisations, including Radian Group Ltd, Weslo Housing Management, New Forest District Council and Bield Housing and Care.
Diana has an MSc in Housing from Heriot Watt University and an MPA from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has served on Housing Association boards as a non-executive member.
As managing director Diana is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organisation leading on service delivery, customer experience, business development, growth and facilitating strong governance by Riverside Scotland's Board. Diana also upholds the stewardship of the Association ensuring all legal, financial and regulatory requirements are met.
Diana is passionate about enhancing our customer experience, delivering great outcomes and services for customers and communities and looks forward to working with Riverside's customers, stakeholders and teams to achieve this.
Gerard was formally elected to the Board in August 2016. Gerry holds a Master of Arts in English & Philosophy and a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Administration and also in Housing Studies. Gerry is also an EFQM trained assessor.
Heather joined Riverside Scotland after 14 years working within the Housing Service at South Ayrshire Council.
Heather started her career as a Housing student whilst working towards her MPhil in Housing Studies at the University of Glasgow, which she completed in 2006. Heather worked as a Housing Officer at South Ayrshire until 2006, at which time she moved to manage the Housing Policy and Strategy team, with responsibility for delivery of the Local Housing Strategy, new affordable housing development, Homelessness strategy and Housing policy and practice across all housing tenures.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing
- Member of Riverside 's Customer Experience Committee
Jim was appointed to the Board in March 2021 and was elected as Chair in September 2021. Jim is a Member of Riverside's Customer Experience Committee
Jim has more than 40 years' experience in the housing sector. He began his career working for local authorities across the west of Scotland before serving as Group Chief Executive of Parkhead Housing Association for 13 years.
Jim is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and served as Chairman of the Scotland Branch, Vice-President and then President of the CIH.
Jane was formally elected to the Board in August 2017. Jane has extensive experience in business development, currently self-employed with Market Route Mapping, specialising in product development. She is involved in high-level strategy development and is responsible for maintaining strong relationships with a diverse range of customers, stakeholders and partners.
Jane has qualifications in Project Management from IBM, Supervisory Management from West College Scotland and Investors in People accreditation.
Jane has a background in retail and has 23 years experience of sales and marketing in the retail sector, working previously as a Retail Design Consultant for the John Lewis Partnership and a Store Manager for Ness Clothing Scotland. Jane also has logistics and distribution experience working with FMCG companies.
Jane is also a Business Mentor with Young Enterprise Scotland, Women's Enterprise Scotland and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce on a voluntary basis.
Margaret was elected to the Board in August 2016 and was appointed to the Audit & Risk Committee in March 2023.
Margaret is the former Scottish Government Minister for Housing and Welfare and was MSP for Cunninghame South 2011-2016. She was previously Manager of East Ayrshire Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB).
Margaret brings a wealth of knowledge of the housing system in Scotland both from setting policy and direction as the Minister responsible, but also from the perspective of tenants from her many years working with the CAB service.
Since retiring, Margaret is still involved in the local community. She is a member of the board of North Ayrshire Women's Aid and chair of the board of the Volunteers Shop in Woodland View community hospital, where she also volunteers every week.
Job Titles:
- Head of FInance & Planning
Morag started with Riverside Scotland in January 2005 and is responsible for the delivery of corporate service functions including finance. This includes strategy and policy development, performance management, business planning, the preparation of statutory accounts, and ensuring financial viability. This involves all areas of the business and as such Morag's role requires a strong emphasis on collaborative working across the whole of the Group.
Morag has worked in finance for over 35 years, starting her career as a junior in a local firm of chartered accountants. Morag then moved to the commercial sector where she worked in media for over 20 years. During that time Morag worked in a number of roles including Senior Regional Management Accountant and Business Development Manager. Morag then moved to the social housing sector in 2005 when she joined the team at Irvine.
Job Titles:
- Risk Management and Governance Specialist
Robin was elected to the Board in August 2018 and became Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee in May 2019. Robin is a member of the Chartered Banker Institute and has over 30 years' experience in the financial services industry with Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Lloyds Banking Group, TSB and currently as Chief Risk Officer of Oxbury Bank plc.
Robin is a risk management and governance specialist with experience across the retail, commercial and corporate sectors and has held a number of senior Risk and Internal Audit roles. Robin also has significant project management experience through the build and launch of Oxbury Bank, the build and divestment of TSB from Lloyds Banking Group as well as business integration projects for HBOS and Lloyds Banking Group.
Job Titles:
- Director of Assets & Communities for Another Scottish Housing Association
Scott was elected to the Board in September 2021. Scott holds an HNC and Bsc Degree in Construction Management. Scott is also a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor and has over 20 years of experience working within the Built Environment.
Scott is currently the Director of Assets & Communities for another Scottish housing association. Scott is responsible for the management and strategic leadership of all the association's assets and community work.
Additionally, Scott and his wife are registered foster carers and are active in helping support young people through the fostering agency they represent.
Sohini was elected to the Board in September 2021. Sohini is a leadership and team coach and culture change facilitator, supporting leaders and teams to perform at their best and thrive. Her previous corporate career evolved from IT change to strategic change projects to wider organisational strategy.
Sohini has over 15 years of professional experience in financial services, retail, and public service. She holds degrees in BSc. in Applied Mathematics & Computer Science, BSc. (Hons) in Technology and Innovation Management, and MSc. in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. She also serves on the board of SEIN (Glasgow-based charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers).
Sohini is a volunteer youth coach with GRIT and The Bridging Project, and does pro-bono consulting for charities through The Cranfield Trust.
Steven was elected to the Board in September 2022. Steven holds a Master of Arts in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and a Master of Science in Real Estate from the University of Glasgow. He also has a Certificate in Letting & Managing Residential Property from the Chartered Institute of Housing, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Building.
Steven has over 20 years' experience in the property sector, with a particular focus on housing and domestic energy efficiency. As a business owner, he has extensive knowledge of business development, operations, and strategy.
Tony was elected to the Board in September 2021 and is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee. Tony is an experienced and successful MD/CEO and Finance Director (General Manager, Sales & BD, Project Director Management Consultancy) in several sectors. He is a recognised business developer with training and consultancy skills and has wide experience of organisational change. He is also a qualified accountant.
Tony's experience has been gained across a range of industries including professional services (specifically the legal profession), niche market project management in the construction sector (specifically the crematoria sector), general management consultancy and the recruitment sectors. He has detailed knowledge of delivering corporate services within a wide range of organisations with a strong emphasis on a commercial approach, whether private or public sector.
He was a founding partner and previous CEO of Ramsay Consulting, a group of small niche businesses with interests in several of the above sectors. He has wide experience of strategic review for commercial entities and a wealth of operational experience across the disciplines of finance, marketing, HR, IT, general organisation management and sales.
Tony is interested in renewable energy and has constructed hydro power plants in the West Highlands of Scotland. He is currently running an acquisitive group business - Ramsay Group Holdings Ltd., operating in the civil Engineering and Construction sectors.