Meet the Board
The members of the Board have a wide range of skills, knowledge and experiences covering the fields of finance, personnel, property management, local government, and social housing and tenant participation activities.
Mohammad Chaudhry - Chair
Mohammad Chaudhry is a financial analyst with indepth experience of management, cost accounting, capital accounting and project management. He is an active member of the Board and serves on a number of committees and working groups including being the Chair of the Finance Sub Committee and Chair of the Complaints Panel. Mohammad also has extensive experience in dealing with local community issues and other appointments include being Governor of a local secondary school, the Vice Chair of Hounslow Police Community Group and the President of the Pakistan Welfare Association in Hounslow.
"I joined Hounslow Homes to bring in commercial thinking and deliver financially efficient service to all our tenants and leaseholders."
Tenant Board Members
Andy Lee - Vice Chair (Tenant)
Andy Lee has lived in Feltham for over 20 years and actively engages in community matters. He is Chair of the Frank Towell Court Resident’s Association and is keen to help improve services provided to all residents in the borough.
Ernie Cooper
Ernie Cooper has been has been a tenant since 1976. His experience involves local community work and he was a key member of a local tenant’s association. He has previously been the Vice Chair for Hounslow Federation of Tenants and Residents Association (HFTRA).
"I became a board member as it is a good way to be involved in the decision making process."
Graham Edwards
Graham Edwards is a leaseholder representative for Hounslow Homes. He has been involved in housing management for over 10 years. He currently works for the Office of National Statistics. He sits on the Finance Sub Committee and Housing Management Forum (East).
"I have always had a keen interest in management services and would like to be associated with an organisation seeking to be the best in the country."
Bill Gallup
Bill intends to be an active member of the board and together with the board and tenants will be able to enhance the quality of our estates and instil a community spirit to all. Bill has lived in Hounslow all of his life, has been a council tenant for 34 years, has run a successful neighbourhood watch scheme for more than fifteen years and has always been interested in the community and local politics. He is a no nonsense and plain speaking individual and hopes that during his term as a tenant board member he will be an asset to the tenants of Hounslow and his fellow board members.
Robert Charig
Robert is a Chiswick local and has a background in media, although his experience with a sibling with a learning disability also led him to working with people in the community with disabilities and mental health problems. Robert has always been very active in the community and is also involved in and supports a number of charities. After suffering a serious sports injury he took time out to study law at the University of West London before attending law school. Robert has a broad depth of knowledge and wider understanding of social issues and the overall needs of the community. His outgoing personality, openess and willingness to get to the root of an issue make Robert the perfect representative for the tenants of Hounslow Homes.
Councillor Board Members
Councillor John Chatt - Vice Chair
Councillor John Chatt is the Labour Councillor for Cranford Ward. Elected in 1986, John has been Mayor, Deputy Leader and Leader of the Council twice for 9 years and 2 years. He was re-elected in May 2010 and is Chair of the Pension Fund and Chair of the Audit Committee. His career at Heathrow Airport 31 years spanned from qualified engineer to Terminal Manager for BAA. John has served on the Association of London Government, was a Director of The Greater London Enterprise Board, a former member of the London Tourist Board and Director of The London Pension Fund Authority. He is also a Director of The Chiswick House & Gardens Trust.
"I joined the Board to carry on the good work that has been the aim and objective of all the people involved with this enterprise."
Councillor Mel Collins
Mel Collins has been involved in public life since 1965 and has extensive knowledge of social housing with a particular interest in supporting vulnerable people. His experience of community work is vast. Mel currently sits on the Hounslow Disability Forum, is Chair of Mission Hall Management Committee and has various roles on many committees including the Police Consultative Group, Hounslow Bereavement Counselling Service. In addition, he has over 20 years experience on a school governing body.
"I joined the Board as I feel that as a councillor and with my vast community experience I can bring tenants and leaseholders closer to the Board and the Board to the everyday problems that people face."
Councillor Ajmer Dhillon
Ajmer Dhillon has served the Hounslow West Community as a ward councillor since 1991. He has served on many committees and is currently the chair of the Central Hounslow Area Committee. He is very active within the community and is a director of Southall Day Centre. In addition, Cllr Dhillon works hard to promote community cohesion in the borough and to ensure that quality services are available to all
"I joined the board to continue to promote the services provided to residents in the Borough".
Councillor Gillian Hutchison
Gillian Hutchison has been a leaseholder for over 12 years and is involved in the local Tenant’s/Resident’s Association. She has been a Councillor since May 2006 and is actively involved locally in community work, serving on a number of committees including Tenants/Leaseholder Joint Consultative Committee and the West Area Committee.
"I became a board member because I wanted to gain a better understanding of how Hounslow Homes works and an understanding of how housing is managed within the borough of Hounslow.Having been a board member for the past three years, I feel I have gained a great deal of knowledge of the issues that are dear to our residents hearts. I very much want to continue in this role - I have enjoyed my time as a board member."
Councillor Gerald McGregor
Councillor McGregor’s Interest in Hounslow Homes is to provide decency and fair play and enablement for those whose voice is muted.
He would like those who have few resources to be able to maximise their opportunities in the same way he did.
His ambition in his role in Hounslow Homes is to defend the interest of tax payers and create more direct and robust conversations.
Councillor McGregor believes that leaseholders, tenants and all employed staff need to be given an opportunity to fulfil themselves as stakeholders and add real value to the social economy.
"I joined the Board because I believe in voluntary service and I have a range of expertise that I believe will be useful to the board of Hounslow Homes."
Independent Board Members
Caroline Wagstaff - Vice Chair (Independent)
Caroline has spent 26 years working in social housing, with local authorities and registered social landlords. Much of her work experience has been in challenging inner London Boroughs. Caroline has specialised in housing management, but has experience in running regeneration schemes and managing repairs and maintenance. She currently works for a national registered social landlord and is responsible for the management of 13,000 homes in the south east of England. Caroline is particularly interested in finding new ways for residents to influence the services they receive and ensure continuous improvement of services over time.
"I joined the Board to work with colleagues, residents and staff to continue towards excellent housing services for all our customers. I hope the knowledge and experience I have gained will help contribute to this vision and in turn broaden my own experience and knowledge."
Martyn Kingsford
Martyn Kingsford is a Chartered Surveyor and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He was for eighteen years Director of Housing at Kensington and Chelsea and Chief Executive of Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. He has over 40 years experience of working in the housing field. Martyn has extensive RSL Board experience and has, since 1975, chaired three Housing Associations including being Chair of Richmond Churches HT. He is Honorary Policy Adviser to TAROE, the national tenant organisation, is a member of several NHF and CLG working groups and was on the Board of Nottingham City Homes (an ALMO).
"I have always admired Hounslow Homes and Hounslow Council, so I am privilaged to join the board and help add to the governance of the company."
Paula Lewis
Paula Lewis is a human resource specialist with considerable experience of working in the public sector, including housing management and local government. she actively contributes to a number of committees and forums and is the chair of the Personnel Sub Committee and sits on the Housing Management Central Area Forum. Other commitments include the Institute of Personnel and Development and community based organisations.
"I joined the board to influence Hounslow tenants opportunities for quality housing and therefore improve their quality of life, and to offer my Human Resources expertise."
Chris Shepherd
Chris started his career at Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) as an auditor in the Government & Public Sector division and qualified as an accountant in 2002. After 8 years working with Local Government, Health and Central Government clients he left PWC to set up Sector Projects, part of the Capita Group. In his 3 years with Sector Projects Chris focused on delivering capital projects in Local Government. Chris moved to GVA Financial Consulting Limited in 2010 to set up a financial consulting division working on the delivery of infrastructure and regeneration projects, through this role he has taken a lead on Tax Increment Finance within the UK.
"I joined the board because I feel that a commercial but realistic view of development will help to drive forward an ambitious organisation, to deliver better services for tenants and leaseholders in the future."
Contact the Board
If you have a question or enquiry for the Board or a particular Board Member, you can email to theboard@hounslowhomes.org.uk with the details.