Meet our management team
Chan Kataria OBE, Group Chief Executive
Chan is Group Chief Executive of emh group and has been in this role since 2004. Prior to this he held senior level positions in various local, regional, and national housing organisations. He is currently Board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has over the years represented other trade bodies in the sector, including the NHF, PlaceShapers, and Housemark. He is also Board member of the CBI Regional Council and is Honorary Associate at De Montfort University. In his spare time, he is on the Boards of a Hospice and FE College. Chan was awarded an OBE in 2017 for his services to housing in the East Midlands.
Chris Ashton, Executive Director – Housing (Member Responsible for Consumer Standards)
Chris joined emh group as an area housing manager in 1996. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), and a member of its East Midlands Regional Board. Chris has played a major role in developing the group’s social enterprise strategy and building local partnerships to tackle homelessness, financial inclusion, community safety and dementia-friendly services for older people.
Chris has responsibility for the Regulator of Social Housing's Consumer Standards and oversees our complaints performance. See our 'Meet the board' page for information on Gail Puttock, our 'Member Responsible for Complaints' as required under the Housing Ombudsman's new Complaint Handling Code. The standards and code came into force on 1 April 2024.
Geoff Clarke, Executive Director – Finance
Geoff has worked in the social housing sector since 1994. He has helped to set up Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) housing associations and has worked within Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs). He has extensive experience of negotiating private finance deals for a number of organisations, and has developed systems for Risk Management and for continuous performance improvement.
Ruth Jennings, Executive Director – Care
Ruth has worked in Social Housing for over 30 years, predominantly within Care and Support services.
Her wealth of experience includes the management of registered services as well as leading the development of strategy. She has delivered a variety of commissioned and non-commissioned services ranging from registered personal care for older people, and those with complex physical disabilities, to housing related support for people experiencing domestic violence and homelessness, including asylum seekers and people experiencing mental ill health.
Chris Jones, Executive Director – Development
Chris joined emh group from another leading registered housing provider in 2018. He has over 20 years’ experience of multi-tenure, residential development in the public and private sectors. Chris manages the group’s Strategic Partnership with Homes England, through which he aims to almost double the number of new homes built over the next five years. He is a lead member of the Quantum Development partnership and strong campaigner for greater housing investment in the East Midlands.
Joanne Tilley, Executive Director – Corporate Services
Jo has been at emh since 2004. A Chartered Member of the CIH, she started her career in housing management, and has also worked in research, strategy, information services, and care and support. As Executive Director Corporate Services, she now oversees governance, people, learning and development, health and safety, and communications services. Jo has an MBA from Birmingham Business School and is one of the three Co-Chairs of the NHF’s Governance Forum.