About the Board

We set out to achieve high standards of governance, accountability and probity to ensure the business is effectively run. We maintain rigorous internal control systems to support and underpin the governance arrangements.

We sign up to the National Housing Federations code “Excellence in Governance”, we conduct annual appraisals of our Board members and have robust selection and appointment processes to ensure we have a “fit for purpose” Board.

The Boards comprise of people who are committed to the communities we serve and members have a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience to draw on. They maintain their knowledge base and keep up to date by attending regular training and development events.

In April 2011 we introduced an overlapping Board Structure for the Group. This means we have 12 Board members, of which eight are on all three Boards (North Star, Endeavour, Teesdale), with two Parent & Subsidiary independent members. This “one” structure approach enables us to hold all three meetings simultaneously but maintains some separateness to protect the individual entities. This is a fairly new way of operating Governance within a Group structure and has many of the benefits of an amalgamation.

We have an Audit Committee of seven members of which two are independent (not on the main Board).

The Tenants Voice is a newly developed group of Tenants whose main focus it to scrutinise the activity of the Board and Associations. This Group is part of the formal Governance structure with a wide representation of tenants from both subsidiaries.

For information on current board vacancies, check our Career Opportunities website, www.morethanalandlord.co.uk.

The New Structure

Members

• Linda Bird - Human Resource Development Manager at Sunderland University
• Pat Buckley - Former Head of Policy at Stockton Borough Council, now retired
• Doug Christie - Formerly Senior Management Team, Darlington Building Society, now retired.
• Adrian Hill - Endeavour resident and Tenant Advisory Panel member and member of Skinningrove Link-up
• Alison Jarvis - Principle Research Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Jed Lester - Vice Chair - Partner- Baines Jewitt Chartered Accountants
• Andrew Marshall - Founder of Andrew Marshall Residential Properties and a qualified management accountant
• Morgan McClintock - University Secretary at Teesside University
• John Salter - Retired from the National Health Service. Former Teesdale District Councillor
• Margaret Smith - Long and varied career at senior level in Social Housing, more recently worked as a consultant in the field. Now retired
• Keith Stansfield - Chair - Retired Production Manager and Justice of the Peace. Former Teesdale District Councillor
• Martin Waters - Former Employee of the Homes and Communities Agency, now a Consultant

Non confidential Board papers can be made available on request - we are please to share this information. Telephone Allison Baird on 01642 796200.

Board members can be contacted via the main office number as above.