Group Board

Andrew Manning-Cox retired as Senior Litigation Partner of Gowling WLG (UK) LLP in 2018, having been with the organisation for 40 years. He specialised in dispute resolution world-wide. Andrew is now in practice as an Arbitrator, Mediator, and a Notary Public.

Andrew is an experienced non-executive director of a number of companies and public bodies. He is currently Chair of Hereford Enterprise Zone (Skylon Park); a non-executive director of Thursfields Legal Limited, The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, and Worcestershire County Cricket Club; and a member of the Independent Remuneration Committee of Worcestershire County Council. Immediate past non-executive directorships include Malvern Hills Science Park and Central Technology Belt.

Craig Moule has been with Sanctuary for over 30 years, having joined the organisation in 1989 from Coopers & Lybrand. Craig was appointed Group Chief Executive on 1 January 2019. Prior to this he was the Group’s Chief Financial Officer. While holding this position, Craig oversaw Sanctuary being the first housing association to implement a SAP enterprise solution and the formation of our Corporate Shared Service Centre. Craig is an ex-officio member of the Group Board.

Trudi Elliott is a Chartered Town Planner and was formerly a lawyer, practising in both the public and private sectors. In April 2018 Trudi was appointed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as the Chair of the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales. Trudi is a visiting Professor in planning and land economy at Henley Business School, University of Reading, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Prior to this Trudi was Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute; Director of the Government Office for the West Midlands; Chief Executive of West Midlands Regional Assembly (Regional Planning Body); Director of Local Government Practice (West Midlands); and Chief Executive of Bridgnorth District Council.

Trudi has considerable experience across the civil service, local Government, charity and private sector, and she has a strong track record of partnership working and delivery. Trudi sits on the Oxford Joint Planning Law Conference Committee; the University of Warwick Estates Committee; is Patron of the Commonwealth Association of Planners; is a Commissioner of UK2070, an inquiry into regional inequalities; and is a Trustee of Community Transport Wyre Forest.

Elwyn Roberts has an Engineering Sciences degree from Cambridge University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte Haskins and Sells in 1982. He became a partner in the multinational professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) in 1990 and specialised in Audit and Assurance services in both the private and public sectors. He retired from the PwC partnership in December 2011. While at PwC, Elwyn was involved in developing the firm’s housing association client portfolio in Wales and the South West. He also advised a range of organisations in the charity and not-for-profit  sector and was appointed to the Charity Commission’s national working party for the development of the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP - 2000). 

Elwyn led and had responsibility for developing PwC’s Regional Risk Assurance practice in the Midlands, focusing on governance, risk, compliance and controls. He advised a range of clients on corporate governance and enterprise risk management matters. Between 2015 to 2018, he was an independent non-executive director at Jaguar Land Rover India Limited where he chaired the audit committee and served on the company’s nomination and remuneration committee. He is also a trustee of a Cardiff-based charity that provides support grants to a range of charitable organisations. 

Denise Plumpton is currently Senior Independent Director of Think Active CSW and Chair of its Audit and Governance Committee. Denise was a non-executive director within NHS primary care for 11 years (2007 to 2018) and chaired the Finance and Performance Committee there. From 2009 to 2015 Denise was a non-executive director at Centro, where she was Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee.

Since 2010 Denise has worked as an Independent Strategic Consultant advising and directing companies to improve their performance, in particular focusing on developing and delivering strategy, and enhancing customer service and process efficiency. Prior to this, Denise was Director of Information at the Highways Agency; IT Director at Sendo Group; Group IT Director at TNT UK and Ireland; and Chief Information Officer/Director for Powergen Plc.

Arvinda is Chief Executive of Central YMCA, the first ever YMCA set up in 1844. Central YMCA provides programmes and support in education, training, health, and wellbeing. She was previously Chief Executive of Community Links, a social action and advocacy charity based in East London. She has worked in the not-for-profit and charitable sector all of her working life, including as Chief Executive of Emmaus UK. Prior to this, she ran her own consultancy for five years, specialising in governance, leadership, and equalities.

Previous roles include Membership Services Director at the National Housing Federation; Assistant Director for Regulation at the Housing Corporation; and Chief Executive of two Black-led housing associations - Unity where she was a founder, and Inquilab. Her career started in housing and her first role was running a women’s refuge specifically to support Black and Asian women. Arvinda has also worked in South Africa where she assisted in developing a social housing model.

As an experienced non-executive, Arvinda is currently Chair of The Peel, a charity that has been building a connected community in Clerkenwell since 1898.

James Thallon is an experienced senior NHS clinical leader and a practising GP. James has worked in clinical commissioning since 2003, eventually becoming Medical Director for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex for NHS England and in 2018/2019 he was Acting Regional Medical Director for NHS England South East.

At the end of 2019, James returned to General Practice at Acle Medical Partnership on the Norfolk Broads. As part of this role James is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia, teaching clinical skills to second year medical students. He also advises general practices in difficulty.

James’s involvement with Sanctuary followed a long association with Crossways Community, a charity providing long-term therapeutic residential accommodation for people with significant mental health issues in Tunbridge Wells and for which he was the Chair of Trustees. James is Chair of the Sanctuary Care Board and Chair of the Sanctuary Home Care Committee of Management.

Ian Chisholm has over thirty years of executive experience in finance and treasury roles in large and complex organisations. He is currently Group Treasurer of Grosvenor Group, the international property management and development company. Ian oversees all treasury activities including managing cash and financial risks, ensuring adequate liquidity and executing financing transactions for all operating companies. Responsibilities include advising senior management and various boards on treasury matters and risks, setting treasury policy and standards, building and maintaining relationships with principal financial institutions and key internal stakeholders, and leading a team of ten treasury professionals.

Ian has operated at board level, both from an executive perspective, as Chief Executive of the Shell UK Pension Fund, and from a non-executive perspective, as President, Audit Committee Chair and Council Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Alok Bhalla had a long and successful career in the private sector with over 30 years of diverse experience in senior roles at financial institutions including Citibank, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank across multiple locations in India, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Over his career, he developed significant expertise across a number of asset classes including equities, debt, commodities, foreign exchange, rates and hybrids and has worked extremely closely with a range of clients, personally leading a number of landmark transactions in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Alok has held pivotal roles in leading and building businesses and teams, structuring and executing complex transactions, managing risk, and optimising balance sheet and capital.

Alok spends his time helping Private Equity owned entities and Private Equity/Venture Capital Funds raise structured debt from public and private markets. He also serves as a director, investor and advisor to a number of start-up companies whose founders he mentors.

Ed Lunt joined Sanctuary in May 2019 as Group Finance Director. He is responsible for finance, treasury and procurement, ensuring Sanctuary maintains and enhances its financial performance and strength to deliver its ambitions. Ed is also a co-opted member of the Group Board.

Ed is a Chartered Accountant who previously was the Finance Director for Alliance Medical Limited. Prior to this Ed was the UK and Germany Finance Director at National Express PLC, and spent 15 years at PwC LLP where he moved through various roles to become Assurance Director.

As Group Director - Corporate Services, Nicole Seymour is responsible for human resources, learning and development, communications, health and safety, facilities, governance and legal services. Nicole is a co-opted member of the Group Board and is the Company Secretary to Sanctuary and all of its subsidiaries.

Nicole initially joined Sanctuary through its successful graduate programme and held a number of roles before becoming Director of Corporate Services in 2016.