Stonewater is governed by a Board, which provides overall strategic direction and ensures that the organisation is meeting its aims and objectives.
Our Chief Officer Group manages the day to day running of the business.
Meet the Board
Sheila Collins
Chairman
Sheila has a wealth of experience in the governance of large complex organisations, as well as that of smaller charities. She has served at board and trustee level across a number of different not-for-profit sectors including roles on the boards of Bournemouth University and MacMillan Caring Locally.
A retired solicitor, Sheila also brings a commercial perspective and a passion for the diversity and inclusion agenda.
Sheila was previously Chairman of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Nicholas Harris
Chief Executive
Nicholas became Stonewater’s CEO in 2016, having been chief executive of Raglan Housing Association since January 2010.
Previous to this, he held the CEO position at Raven Housing Trust for seven years and was also Group Operations Director for the Swaythling Housing Group for seven years.
He has extensive experience in both the social housing sector and local authorities and considerable knowledge of socio-economic regeneration matters.
Jennifer Bennet
Chair of Nominations and Remuneration Committee, Chair of Governance and Assurance Challenge and Assurance Panel
During her career as a solicitor working for clients in the social housing sector, Jennifer specialised in governance, securitisation, asset management and leasehold law.
She has also held a number of voluntary roles including a Non-Executive Director of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust; an Independent Member of Winchester City Council Standards Committee; a Non-Executive Director of Parity Trust, which provides loan finance for community-based projects and a Trustee of the Roberts Centre, a charity providing housing support in Portsmouth.
She is a founding member of Portsmouth Housing Community Trust established in 2019.
Heather Bowman
Heather is an experienced executive and non-executive director having worked in social housing and the third sector for over 35 years. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer at Sovereign, one of the largest Housing Associations, and is currently a board member with Raven Housing Trust and the Housing Plus Group.
She is passionate that safe, secure, and good quality homes in great places give individuals, families and communities choices and opportunities to thrive.
Juliana Crowe
Chair of Customer Experience Challenge and Assurance Panel
Juliana has over 25 years’ experience working in the social housing sector, most recently as housing director for a large Midlands-based housing group. Previously, she worked for the London Boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich.
Juliana is a board member of Nehemiah Housing and a trustee of the Talensi Community Development Foundation in Ghana. She has also been Chair of the CIH West Midlands Board and a Trustee of HACT.
Andrew Lawrence
Chair of Risk and Assurance Committee
Andrew is a chartered accountant with a special interest in corporate governance, strategic leadership, risk management, cultural change and innovation. Formerly a finance director in the commercial and international development sectors, he now has a portfolio of non-executive director roles in organisations whose purposes he feels passionate about.
Andrew is Chair of Bron Afon Community Housing, a community mutual social enterprise in South Wales, Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of the Intellectual Property Office and a director of New Wine Cymru.
Chris Edis
Chair of Stonewater Funding plc, Chair of Finance Challenge and Assurance Panel
Chris is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in top-tier financial services.
An experienced executive and finance director, Chris is currently the Director of Finance Transformation & Sustainability Reporting, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, bringing experience in strategy, treasury, liquidity, and capital management.
Angus Michie
Chair of Assets and Development Challenge and Assurance Panel, Chair of Stonewater Developments Limited, Chair of Stonewater Commercial Limited
Angus is a qualified chartered surveyor with 30 years’ experience in the residential development industry. He has a real passion for creating places for people to live that are attractive, well designed and sustainable.
Angus spent 25 years with the Berkeley Group. As Divisional Chairman of a number of their operating businesses in London, the South East and the Midlands, he was responsible for a number of the group's joint ventures with the Prudential and various local authorities. Angus is the Managing Director of SevenCapital, which is a developer of residential and mixed use communities across London, the Midlands and the South East.
Hursh Shah
Hursh is a qualified accountant and finance professional with treasury, capital market and corporate finance experience. He is currently Head of Capital Markets at British Land responsible for managing existing finance and raising new finance and manages relationships with stakeholders including debt investors and rating agencies.
He has also been involved in the formation and operations of joint ventures between British Land and its partners and is a director for a number of these joint ventures.
Barry Hoffman
Barry is an experienced FTSE group HR director with an MBA and corporate governance expertise. With a track record in change management and HR, both in the UK and globally, he has developed a strong focus on delivering shareholder value and driving transformational change.
Barry is also an experienced non-executive director, having supported boards on governance, executive succession, remuneration and organisational change.
Martin Large
Chair of Greenoak Housing Association Ltd
Martin is the current chair of Greenoak Housing Association Ltd, which joined Stonewater Group in 2023. His is also Chair of Mount Green and Greenoak’s Common Board and has significant senior management and board experience in the housing sector.
This includes his work as the former CEO of GLE Group (London Local Authorities’ regeneration and business investment, development and services group), former non-executive director roles at Pocket Living Ltd and Selwood Housing Society Ltd, and as the former vice-chair at Hexagon Housing Association.
Jane Scott
Jane is an experienced business leader with a specialism in information technology and digital transformation. Her career has focused on fast moving consumer goods companies at which she has led large-scale transformational projects to support optimal customer service, business growth and operational excellence. Jane has experience of all key aspects of IT and management including data strategy, cyber security and systems infrastructure.
Her professional roles have been complimented by non-executive director roles in higher education, deposit return scheme administration and management consultancy.