CIH were granted a Royal Charter in 1984 and our work is governed by our Charter and Byelaws, overseen by the Privy Council.

We are also a registered charity, with education at the core of our charitable status. That means we must comply with the requirements of the law relating to charities. Our activities are regulated by the Charity Commission in England and Wales, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in Scotland.

Presidential team

Our presidential team are the ambassadors for CIH. Find out more about their roles and meet the president and vice-president below:

Jill Murray - CIH President

  • CIH President
  • Member of governing board

Jill Murray is an accomplished chief executive and housing professional with extensive leadership skills, knowledge and experience. Having spent the majority of her 42 year housing career in social housing, her experience has included a path of continuous learning in organisations of varying structures, size and capacity, which has afforded her a diverse range of skills and knowledge across housing association, local authority and the private sector.

Throughout her career, Jill’s enthusiasm for excellence in leadership has inspired her to develop herself and others. Jill’s work on leading and empowering staff and regenerating communities has attracted both regional and national recognition, including various personal and organisational awards. She is president of CIH and a non-executive director of a large NHS mental health foundation trust, where she also chairs the People, Culture and Diversity Committee.

Elly Hoult - CIH vice-president

  • CIH vice-president
  • Member of governing board

With over two decades of experience, Elly Hoult is the COO at Peabody. Throughout her career, she has witnessed the transformative power of housing and its impact on individuals, families, and communities.
Her journey began as a housing officer in care and support, where she gained invaluable insights into the challenges faced by people seeking safe and affordable homes.

Elly is CIH’s vice president and a current board member. Elly also chairs the Better Social Housing Review’s “Knowing our homes” group, aimed at creating a data standard for housing associations across the UK.
For the majority of her career, she has been a huge advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion and was instrumental in introducing the Race Code to CIH and setting up CIH Futures as the first chair for members under 30 years old.

Presidential campaign - Be EPIC

No matter who you are, home is the place where everything begins and if you work hard, you can achieve anything you want, no matter where you come from. The work we do as housing professionals is so important, that's why for this year's presidential campaign, Jill Murray BA FCIH has developed Be EPIC.

Be EPIC champions the elements that can make us competent professionals, highlighting how technical competencies must be coupled with personal competencies and behaviors, continued learning and hard work to be successful. The campaign will promote how an incredible career in housing can be achieved, alongside the diverse range of job opportunities that are on offer in the sector.

Be EPIC

The president and vice-president should each:
  • Be an effective leader for the profession and an ambassador for CIH
  • Be an inspirational figure for CIH members and the wider housing sector and provide "challenge" for improvement
  • Be a "champion" for housing issues
  • Lead CIH’s international relationships and development work
  • Be one of the "public faces" of CIH alongside the governing board chair and chief executive and attend CIH and other events as a speaker and spokesperson
  • Promote the housing profession and seek to ensure that the profession is not brought into disrepute and use their best endeavours to protect CIH’s reputation
  • Have some responsibility for seeking to ensure that the broad governance of the CIH is effective
  • Be regarded as an informal natural arbiter
  • Communicate with members and the wider housing sector on important matters of housing policy and professionalism
  • Undertake international liaison (including overseas visits) in line with CIH objectives and policies decided by the governing board
  • Be an ex-officio (non-voting) governing board member, with a right to attend and speak and be bound by its decisions and support the task of recruiting trustees
  • Set, or have set, a specific strategic objective or project to be undertaken during their term of office

Governing board

Our governing board works closely with the executive team to set the strategic direction of our business. The board meet four times a year, to guide the work of CIH and ensure we continue to provide excellent support for our members and the wider housing community.

The members of the board come from across the UK, from the public and private sectors, and bring with them a wealth of unique experience and knowledge.

Geraldine Howley OBE, FCIH - chair of governing board

  • Chair of governing board

Geraldine Howley was appointed chair of CIH’s governing board in 2018, with associated global responsibilities.

She is co-founder and executive chair of the GEM Programme, which develops upcoming housing talent in the UK and overseas.

Geraldine is an active member of the International Housing Partnership with a special interest in talent development.

She is also a board member of MORhomes PLC an innovative borrowing vehicle for the UK social housing sector, chair of the International Housing partnership and chair of the Housing Partnership UK and Ireland.

Geraldine has recently been appointed as chair designate for Together Housing Group.

Aileen Evans CIHCM - vice chair of governing board

Aileen Evans CIHCM

  • Vice chair of governing board
  • Chair of the Governance, Ethics, Remuneration and Nominations Committee

Aileen Evans is CEO of Grand Union Housing Group and at the end of June 2021 completed her term as the president of CIH.

A qualified coach and NLP master practitioner she has a strong interest in understanding healthy organisational cultures and the impact on performance.

An emerging mental health campaigner, she was, as part of her presidential campaign, working with the mental health charity MIND to provide a guide for housing organisations on creating mental health support within organisations; she had set a fundraising target of £50,000 to support MIND.

Chan Kataria OBE, FCIH - vice chair of governing board

  • Vice chair of governing board

Chan Kataria OBE is the group chief executive of emh group, a housing and care group with a turnover of £130 million, 1,100 employees and over 20,000 homes in management.

The group is a major developer of affordable homes, and provider of care and support services in the East Midlands.

Prior to this role, Chan worked for various local, regional, and national housing organisations. He is also a non-executive director in several organisations, including CIH and Housemark.

Outside of the sector, Chan is a board member of a regional hospice, a further education college, and the CBI Regional Council.

John Hannigan FCIH

  • Chair of the audit and risk committee
  • Member of governing board

John Hannigan is a well-known leading voice and driver in the delivery of social and affordable housing in Ireland.

As CEO of Circle Voluntary Housing Association and as chair of The Housing Alliance, he strives for the industry to ‘do more’ in its contribution to ‘Housing for All’.

All aiming to challenge the barriers to delivery, be innovative in its approach to meet social and affordable housing targets, and to provide homes to those in housing need.

John has over 30 years’ experience in the housing sector, he is a CIH Fellow member, a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors.

John is a member of the board of ICSH, chair of CIH Ireland and a member of CIH governing board and chair of its Audit and Risk Committee.

Ria Bailes

Ria bailes, Bailes Partners Consulting

  • Member of governing board
  • Member of Governance, Ethics, Remuneration and Nominations Committee

Ria Bailes is the founding director of BPC and has spent 15 years working in private and public sector organisations. She has executive and non-executive director experience and specialises in improving business performance through effective leadership and people strategies.

She has created leadership programmes targeted at building inclusive workplaces and enjoys working with leaders on their personal impact and how they engage with their people to inspire great performance. Ria is skilled in strategy formulation and communication. She has established and grown new business ventures and led major organisational change and programmes.

Ria’s other roles include being a board member and chair of the Culture, Talent and Remuneration Committee at Fair4All Finance. She chairs the Green Spaces Advisory Panel and sits on the Peabody Academy Board.

Foluke Sangobowale

Foluke Sangobowale

  • Member of governing board
  • Member of Governance, Ethics, Remuneration and Nominations Committee

Foluke Sangobowale is currently the head of neighbourhood management in London and support services at SNG (formerly Sovereign Network Group). Foluke has supported EDI projects, led change, and worked on a number of housing management projects such as welfare reforms roll out, service delivery projects, community safety projects, IT implementation and most recently a merger integration project. She has qualifications in law, risk, governance, compliance and business management.

Foluke is passionate about having more professionals join and stay in the housing so actively mentors other aspiring leaders. Passionate about having more representation of diversity on boards, she is a member of the Governance, Ethics, Remuneration and Nominations Committee of as well as the chair of a school board.  She also sits on CIH’s Awarding Organisation Committee as the link trustee to the CIH governing board.

Hannah Harvey

  • Member of governing board

Hannah Harvey has been a CIH Chartered member since 2020. She is an LQBTQ+ advocate and passionate about improving outcomes for tenants and creating sustainable communities for all. As a seasoned COO, Hannah has spent the past eight years, transforming resident services and landlord performance across the sector. Working with urban, rural and specialist providers, her brand is synonymous with achieving exceptional results and resident led outcomes. Hannah is also a non-executive director of Your Own Place Community Interest Company. Hannah’s experience has led across the globe where she is now the executive general manager customer and community for Housing Choices Australia.

Joseph Carr

Joseph Carr, Savills Housing Consultancy

  • Co-opted member of governing board

Joseph Carr is a qualified accountant with over 30 years’ experience. He has been associated with the sector on and off for the majority of his working life; very early on in the finance team of the Hyde Housing Group and more than a decade heading up finance policy at the National Housing Federation. Currently retired, he has worked for Altair Consultancy, for MORhomes, the housing association bond aggregator, and Savills Housing Consultancy.

Jospeh has also held a number of board roles, serving as the chair of Longhurst’s Treasury and Finance Committee and he currently sits on the group board of mhs and chairs the Finance Audit and Risk Committee.

These roles have given him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the finance and business models across the spectrum of social housing providers. His experience includes advising and working closely with executive teams, boards and the Regulator on financial accounting and reporting, treasury, pensions, tax, risk management, compliance, governance and mergers.

James Ballantyne

James Ballantyne, chair, CIH Futures and process design lead, Legal and General Affordable Homes

  • Co-opted member of governing board
  • Link member with Futures group

James Ballantyne is a housing professional based in Somerset, in the South West of England who specialises in projects and business design. James currently works for Legal and General Affordable Homes, has worked for number of housing providers in London and the South West of England, and is a non-executive director for Magna. A firm believer in the power the housing sector has to support and grow communities across the country, James champions good housing quality and innovation in housing delivery.

As the former chair of CIH Futures, James is passionate about supporting young professionals reach their potential, and ensure that professionalism is seen as a key part of their career when looking to make a difference in the housing sector.

The executive team

The executive team is made up of senior colleagues from across the business and drives the strategy set by our governing board.

Our mission at CIH is simple - we support housing professionals to create a future in which everyone has a place to call home.

We conduct research, provide policy analysis, training, qualifications, events and much more to equip our members and the wider housing profession with the skills, knowledge and expertise they need to be the best that they can be. We are also one of the leading voices on housing policy across the UK. 

The executive team is responsible for driving this mission and our strategy to make it a reality.

Gavin Smart - chief executive

Gavin Smart, chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing

Gavin Smart CIHCM is chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Housing. Prior to joining CIH, Gavin was assistant director of research and futures at the National Housing Federation from 2004 to 2012. Born in Cardiff, Gavin studied public administration at the Polytechnic of Wales and then gained an MSc in sociology at the University of Bristol, where he worked as a research associate on projects for the Department of the Environment, Housing Corporation, Scottish Office and local authorities.

Sarah Dunkerley - director of professional development and membership

Sarah Dunkerly, director of knowledge and learning, Chartered Institute of Housing

Sarah Dunkerley CIHM has been the director of professional development at the Chartered Institute of Housing since April 2019. With a passion for vocational education and professional development, throughout her career Sarah has been involved in delivering, developing and quality assuring qualifications and standards across a range of occupational areas – from energy efficiency to procurement and supply. Prior to joining CIH, Sarah held various roles in the further education, awarding and professional body sector, always striving to achieve valuable opportunities for individuals to improve and progress in their career.

About us
Find out how we support our diverse membership of housing professionals to create a future in which everyone has a place to call home
Become a member
As a CIH member you will gain access to the latest sector-leading knowledge and best practice, free attendance our events and training, and much more.
Work for CIH
Our work is driven by a passionate belief that our contribution as housing professionals is vital to making communities great places to live and work.