We’re rated G1 for governance, with a skilled, diverse and experienced board, which includes residents.
The board and its supporting committees provide the group’s overall direction and strategy, in line with the National Housing Federation’s Code of Governance. The board works to a terms of reference and code of conduct.
Board members are paid for their time, contributions, skills and experience as set out in our Board recruitment, succession and remuneration strategy. They can claim reasonable expenses and are required to declare their interest or involvement in any other relevant organisations (for example, other board or company directorships).
Board members normally serve for up to six years, subject to re-election every three years. In our most recent regulatory judgement, emh was top-rated as ‘G1’ for governance.
Our current board members are:
Danielle Oum - Chair
Danielle has a strong leadership background in strategic development, stakeholder engagement and transformational change spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors.
She brings extensive experience in the housing and care fields, having previously and currently held chair roles at NHS Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) Cluster, Chair of NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB and whg. She also holds Board member positions in Fusion21 Ltd and Waythrough.
Danielle began her career in publishing and went on to work in skills and employment roles at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Learning and Skills Council and TCV.
Anne Chapman - Vice Chair
Anne has extensive governance, strategic and legal experience, and currently works as Company Secretary for Golding Homes. She was previously a solicitor for over 20 years, specialising in strategic risk management, regulatory and legal compliance, data protection and health and safety.
Anne has wide-ranging stakeholder engagement and governance experience, including non-executive positions in the health, housing, education and charity sectors. She is Vice Chair of Eldon Housing Association, Vice Chair of the homelessness and mental health charity Porchlight and an independent member of the Chartered Institute of Housing Audit and Risk Committee.
Charley Gibbons, Group Chief Executive
Charley was appointed Group Chief Executive in November 2025, bringing a wealth of leadership experience and a deep commitment to social impact.
Before stepping into this role, he served as emh’s Executive Director for Housing, where he led transformative initiatives to enhance customer experience, resulting in a marked rise in satisfaction across our services.
Before joining emh in 2024, Charley was Director of Customer Experience at Orbit Housing, and previously held the position of Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Coventry. His career reflects a dedication to empowering communities and improving lives through accessible housing, outstanding service delivery, and a high-performing organisational culture.
Driven by values of fairness, opportunity, and inclusion, Charley has championed national campaigns addressing child poverty and advancing energy efficiency in UK social housing.
Andy Murtha
Andy brings a unique perspective to the Housing Board, with over forty years’ experience in the voluntary and emergency services. He has served on five boards, chairing two and acting as company secretary for one. His lived experience has given him expertise in both mental and physical disabilities, and he is a wheelchair user. Andy has worked with Social Services in commissioning and procurement, and with the police on disability engagement, including senior-level recruitment. He also provided similar services within the NHS, where he was employed as a Lived Experience Partner to help improve major services. Alongside this, Andy spent 27 years as a commercial trainer, the last three as Training Manager. He was an initial member of the emh Scrutiny Panel and now chairs the Resident Influence Committee.
Shabir Ismail
Shabir is the Deputy Principal and Chief Executive of Leicester College, with extensive educational experience spanning colleges, private companies and a government agency. He is a qualified accountant who previously worked as a consultant advising clients on governance, risk and finance.
Shabir is an experienced executive and non-executive director who’s worked with several boards and committees including George Eliot NHS Trust and the Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Roger Merchant
Roger is a chartered accountant and charity specialist partner for UHY Hacker Young, a national accountancy and business advisory firm.
After graduating from Bristol University in Economics and Statistics, Roger worked in London and Warsaw as a partner with PwC, before moving to the East Midlands. He is a former Chair of Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing, and has also served as a trustee and committee member at Warwick Care, Derby Museums, Leicester College, the Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Fund and Leicester Business Voice.
Gail Puttock, resident board member and Member Responsible for Complaints
Gail is an emh customer and a highly experienced human resources and employment law specialist in the consultancy and health sectors. She is also a former parish councillor and works with Citizens Advice to support foodbanks in the Hinckley area.
Gail performs a special role in overseeing how we respond to customer complaints and comply with the Housing Ombudsman Service’s Complaint Handling Code.
Paul Casey
Paul has more than 40 years’ social housing experience, especially in asset management and development. He’s the director of an affordable housing consultancy providing development and asset management services to contractors, developers and registered housing providers. He is also Property and Asset Director of Horizon Infrastructure Ltd, an institutional investment management company.
Simon Brake
Professor Simon Brake is an experienced and skilled leader working nationally across higher education, academia, government and health, with extensive expertise in organisational leadership, strategy, change and improvement. His leadership is rooted in practical experience while operating at the highest levels, with a strong commitment to improving public services and keeping outcomes for patients and the public at its heart. Simon's current joint role is Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer at Warwick Medical School and Group Director for Research and Development at the SWUFT NHS Group of Hospitals. He holds several national public appointments and non-executive roles, including as a member and Interim Chair of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, West Midlands chair of the MOD’s Veterans Committee (VAPC) and was seconded into central government during the COVID-19 pandemic as an SCS/senior official leading national testing and laboratory programmes across England. Simon teaches, supervises and researches NHS, system and clinical leadership, publishes and collaborates on complex system reviews, is a member of the WM Clinical Senate and serves as a member on the West Midlands Fire & Rescue Authority as the co-opted health representative.
Simon also serves his local community as a trustee of several local charities, as a volunteer with a local food poverty alleviation group, as an NHS ambulance service community first responder, through his local church, and as a Deputy Lieutenant in the West Midlands.
Kim Hamilton
Kim has a wide-ranging commercial background, including executive positions in both the investment banking and charity sectors. Her experience spans strategy, finance, organisational leadership and business development across complex operating environments. Kim also serves as Vice Chair and Board Member of Community Housing in Kidderminster, bringing valuable board-level expertise in governance, organisational performance and stakeholder engagement.
Sandra Whiles
Sandra is an experienced leader, executive coach and non-executive director, with a background in organisational leadership, transformation, partnership working and public services.
She spent more than 30 years in local government, including 12 years as Chief Executive of Blaby District Council. During her career she worked closely with housing organisations, councils and wider partners on issues including housing, homelessness, health, community wellbeing and place. This work developed her strong understanding of the difference that safe, secure and good-quality homes make to people’s lives and communities.
Sandra now runs her own executive coaching practice, working with senior leaders. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach and author of The Coaching Tools Compendium.
She brings extensive experience in leadership, governance, organisational change and partnership working to the emh Board, alongside a strong interest in the social purpose of housing and its role in helping people and communities thrive.
Nigel Finney
Nigel is a housing professional and non-executive director with nearly four decades’ experience across social housing, governance and customer-focused service delivery. He has held Managing Director and other senior executive roles across large and medium-sized housing associations, leading on housing management, asset management, business transformation and regulatory improvement.
Nigel serves on the Boards of Grwp Cynefin and Watmos Community Homes, chairing committees focused on operations and residents, and has helped organisations strengthen governance, restore regulatory compliance and embed learning from complaints. He chaired the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Professional Standards Committee and until 2025 was a member of the CIH Governing Board, supporting development of the sector’s Professional Standards Framework and preparations for the Competence and Conduct Standard.