My professional life in Human Resources began in education in Essex a long time ago. Most of this was in local government until 1998 when I was Director of Personnel for Berkshire County Council. I then moved into the charity sector as Human Resources Director of The Children’s Society and moved to Chapter 1 in November 2004 as its Human Resources Director. In between times I also worked as an independent consultant. Since joining Chapter 1 I have been privileged to widen my responsibilities and delighted to be appointed Chief Executive in May 2007.

All my professional roles have had some connection with young people and that remains an important aspect of our work. Helping those we support, whether through our work for international students, the homeless or our community based services, to realise their potential is one of the great joys of working for Christian Alliance Housing.

Being an active member of the Salvation Army I practise my Christian belief in a social context and therefore find such empathy with the ethos of Chapter 1.

In my family I am surrounded by women; Tricia, my wife is a junior school teacher and I have three wonderful grown up daughters who keep me on my toes. They are my fashion police. Nothing misses their scrutiny although I am a hopeless recidivist and escaping their scrutiny is much easier now they have all left home.

Working in human relationships provides the variety I enjoy: the opportunity to observe and serve others; influence and change situation while being changed personally; and gain insights into the work and the behaviours of people not afforded in many other roles. This suits my inquisitive personality.

My other passions are travel, which provides opportunity to practise my interest in photography, and music. I play the tenor horn badly in a brass band, which gives me the opportunity “to blow my own trumpet”!