Meet our team

“Citizen does valuable work in the region where I’ve lived my whole life, we employ local people, we balance our investment in new homes and existing communities, and we are committed to our social purpose.”

Kevin has been Chief Executive since May 2015 and was elected Chair of the West Midlands Housing Association Partnership. He’s also a Board Member of Placeshapers, the Matrix Partnership, Coventry One Partnership, and the National Housing Federation's West Midlands Regional Committee. 

Kevin was appointed Chief Executive in May 2015 and became a Board Member in July 2016. Prior to that, he was Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director. Kevin joined the organisation in 2002.

Claire is a non-executive director of the Single Source Regulations Office and a former non-executive director of the Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland (and also former chair of its Audit Committee).

She has held senior executive and non-executive positions in the electricity, renewable energy and rail sectors for over 20 years. Alongside her Citizen Board role, Claire is also Chair of Development Board (Citizen New Homes Board). 

Joan is a Citizen customer and has been a tenant of social housing for over 40 years with various landlords.  She has been a member of the Customer Assurance Committee since January 2021, is the current Chair of the Committee and is also a member of Citizen’s Remuneration Committee.

Joan has managed various supported living services for vulnerable individuals over several years and has contributed to programmes and initiatives designed to remove barriers to customer involvement, enhance trust, and improve service satisfaction. 

Joan has been a founder member and Secretary of several local Tenants and Residents Association from the mid 80’s, as she is passionate about using evidence, insights, and partnership working to drive better outcomes for Customers and Communities. 

She is always keen to champion approaches that prioritise inclusivity and lived experiences and says ‘I am proud to work with Citizen to support and advocate for approaches that amplify customers’ voices in a meaningful and impactful way, across diverse Communities’. 

Angela is the Executive Director of Governance and Compliance at The ExtraCare Charitable Trust and is also a qualified accountant. In her role at ExtraCare, she has the strategic lead for governance, compliance, procurement, IT, digital transformation and the project management office. 

Angela acts as Senior Independent Director on Citizen Board, is Citizen’s Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC) and is Chair of Citizen’s Remuneration Committee. 

Stephen leads on data foundation for public sector at Salesforce having previously worked as Director of Data, Strategy and Technology at Warwickshire Police for 8 years and prior to that has 10 years of sector experience with Midland Heart. Stephen has also recently been appointed Chair of Citizen’s Audit & Risk Committee.  

Andy is a Chartered Surveyor with over 35 years of experience working in the design, construction and maintenance sectors.

He has worked in the housing sector since 2002 and is an experienced Executive and Non-Executive Director, including chairing Board and Audit and Risk Committees in previous organisations. 

Andy is also a member of Citizen’s Development Board. 

Kyle Smith joined the Citizen Board in January 2025, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Mental Health First Aider.  Kyle was previously Head of Communications at Trent & Dove, a housing association based in East Staffordshire and has also worked throughout the East and West Midlands with organisations such as the University of Birmingham and The King’s Trust.

Kyle is now Director of Partnerships and Communication at Communities and Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC). Kyle is also a member of Citizen’s Remuneration Committee.  

The Customer Assurance Committee makes sure customers’ views, experiences and feedback are heard and considered. It also makes sure this feedback is used to design, deliver and improve our services.

The Committee provides assurance to the Board that Citizen is meeting the standards expected by the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman.

The Committee is made up of customers and Citizen Board representatives. Joan Allen is the Chair and is also a Citizen customer.

The Customer Scrutiny Panel regularly reviews our services. The areas it reviews are agreed with the Customer Assurance Committee.

After each review, the Panel reports its findings to the Board. The Customer Assurance Committee then monitors the recommendations to make sure improvements are made.

The Development Board is responsible for Citizen’s commitment to building quality homes for our customers. This includes delivering our Development Strategy and building homes for market sale.

The Board also approves new build schemes that are part of our regeneration programme and monitors progress on joint ventures.

The Development Board is established as a company limited by shares, Citizen New Homes Ltd. It is made up of independent members and Citizen Board representatives. Claire Williams is the Chair.

The Audit and Risk Committee provides assurance to the Citizen Board that we have effective controls in place.

This includes oversight of:

- internal and external audit

- risk management

- fraud prevention

- budget setting

- financial planning

- financial performance.

The Committee is made up of independent members and Citizen Board representatives. Stephen Russell is the Chair.

The Remuneration Committee makes sure Citizen has effective leadership and strong governance. It also oversees fair processes for appointing and rewarding senior leaders and Board members.

The Committee is responsible for overseeing our People Strategy and Equality and Diversity Strategy. Angela Carpenter, Senior Independent Director and Board Member, is the Chair.

The Co-terminous Treasury Board is responsible for entering into funding arrangements that benefit Citizen and support our Business Strategy.

It also makes sure we have suitable property security in place to meet our existing funding requirements and support future borrowing.