Steve Dando has taken over as chair of our Board, as one of a number of recent changes which has seen two new appointments.

Steve has taken over the role of chair from Jonathan Simpson-Dent who has stood down from the Board having been chair since 2015. Steve currently chief financial officer at Punch Taverns, one of the UK’s leading independent pub companies, with an estate of 1,300 pubs. He has been a member of the Bromford Board since November 2015.

“I am delighted to now take over as Chair of the Board and am looking forward to seeing the organisation, which was strengthened with the merger of Merlin and Severn Vale, deliver on the merger benefits to the communities in which we serve, as we set out at the time of the mergers,” he said.

“In the current uncertain economic environment, operating from a position of strong governance and financial strength has never been more important. Bromford is well placed to weather the current economic headwinds, allowing for the continued investment in our homes, the communities in which we serve and in building new homes for future customers.”

Steve has been appointed following the departure of Jonathan Simpson-Dent who had spent eight years on the Bromford board, the past five of them as chair. During that time Bromford has seen the number of homes it owns increase from 27,000 to 44,000, while turnover has increased from £166m to £257m.

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve Bromford over the last 8 years. I am hugely inspired by what the you have achieved and your exemplary track record over this time: the organisation has almost doubled in size, built nearly 6,000 new homes and, most significantly, has led the way across the housing sector on why and how to develop meaningful relationships with customers. I’ve had the honour of serving alongside over 20 different Bromford board colleagues and 3 exceptional Chief Executives. Most importantly, I’d like to thank all colleagues for your contribution and support – you are making a real difference to thousands of lives every day and I know that you will continue to thrive.”

There have also been two other departures from the Board at the same time as Jonathan. Non-executive directors Oke Elauzu and Balvinder Heran have also stood down, with their positions taken by Sarah Simpson and Jerry Toher.

Sarah is a customer experience expert who has contributed to the success of well-known brands such as National Express, First Group and Jet2.com and currently leads the customer experience team at Sky Betting and Gaming.

Jerry is chief executive of the consumer division at Royal London Group and has significant experience in launching, growing and transforming customer businesses, having previously led the launch of mint.com and egg.com