Tina Barnard - Chief Executive
Tina has been Chief Executive since we were formed in 2007. She is a qualified accountant who has been in the housing sector for 27 years, working as a Finance Director in three housing organisations – CHP, Worthing Homes and New Era – as well as a financial analyst at the Housing Corporation.
Tina has also been a Non-Executive Director for a number of housing and charitable organisations, and is currently on the Board of the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
As Chief Executive, Tina has overall responsibility for delivering Watford Community Housing’s Business Plan by working closely with directors, managers and staff, including the Marketing and Communications team, who report directly to her.
Paul Richmond - Deputy Chief Executive
Paul is a qualified accountant who has completed an MBA at Cranfield. He worked in the financial services sector for 15 years, and has extensive experience in strategic planning, risk management, and ensuring the commercial success and viability of organisations.
As Deputy Chief Executive, he is responsible for ensuring we have the right resources to meet our ambitious goals. This includes delivering strong financial performance and ensuring we have the treasury facilities in place to support our growth, as well as leading our IT team on its digital transformation strategy and our HR team on making Watford Community Housing an even greater place to work. He is also responsible for ensuring the highest standards in both corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Ben Johnson - Group Director of Operations
Ben has 17 years’ experience in social housing, which includes working for large- and medium-sized housing associations, and in private practice. Ben is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and holds a first-class degree in Building Surveying. He is also a Non-Executive Director of a large charity.
As Director of Operations Ben is responsible for all of our customer-facing services, including responsive repairs, asset management, community investment, customer contact, estate services, tenancy management and income collection.
His department aims to deliver great customer satisfaction, safe and modern homes, and efficient, high-quality works.
Gareth Lewis - Group Director of Partnerships
Gareth has spent his entire career in social housing, having been Development Director for both Orbit Housing Group and Housing 21, as well as spending 15 years in consultancy.
Gareth has also served on the boards of housing associations and social enterprises, and presently chairs the Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce.
As Group Director of Partnerships, Gareth oversees our development activity as we work to deliver desperately needed new homes to help alleviate the housing shortage.
He is also responsible for maximising opportunities to collaborate and improve our service delivery, together with offering our services to others.