New Group Chief Executive Appointed
Emh has appointed Charley Gibbons as its new chief executive.
Mr Gibbons brings to the role a blend of emh knowledge from his role as its executive director of housing and communities, as well as an external perspective and experience from over 10 years in housing. Over the last year Charley has spearheaded emh’s customer experience work, including driving an increase in customer satisfaction and transformation of the complaints and customer voice offer.
Prior to joining emh in 2024, Mr Gibbons held the role of director of customer experience at Orbit Housing. In keeping with his work to contribute to social equality, he has also served as Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, Coventry and led national campaigns to tackle child and fuel poverty.
The appointment follows the retirement of Chan Kataria, OBE who led emh for 21 years. Mr Kataria will remain in post until later in 2025 when he is set to take up a Non-Executive Director role on the Board of the Regulator of Social Housing.
The appointment follows an open and extensive recruitment process which began after the announcement of Mr Kataria’s retirement in late June this year.
Professor David Russell, chair of emh, said: “As a board, we are delighted with Charley’s appointment and have every confidence he will build on the strong legacy of his predecessors. His grounded social ethos combined with commercial acumen will see emh continue to flourish under his leadership. We look forward to working with him and welcoming him to his new position.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Chan for leaving the organisation in a strong and stable position and for leaving such an inspiring legacy. We know he will continue to champion customers and communities in his new role as a board member of the Regulator of Social Housing and wish him the very best of luck.”
Mr Gibbons said: “With emh only having 3 chief executives in its close to 80-year history, I know I’m stepping into some very values-driven and pioneering shoes. Since joining emh 12 months ago, there has been a strong values alignment, and this new role offers even more opportunity for me to ensure every interaction focuses on what matters most to our customers.
“With a strong executive team around me, exceptional staff and an involved resident body who are now influencing our work at every level, I’m excited about what the next chapter will hold. Our existing strong joint ambitions of achieving C1, of an ever-improving customer experience and partnership work to tackle issues of inequality will remain my immediate priorities once in post, and in the interim I’m keen to ensure I maximise the handover period to ensure we build on Chan’s incredible legacy.”