Abdul Ravat
former Vice Chair, The Abbeyfield Living Society / Manningham Housing Association

Abdul is a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Abbeyfield Living Society. The Abbeyfield Movement operates in 9 countries and 4 continents, and he also Chairs the NHF’s Older Person Housing Group (OPHG). Abdul brings over 30 years of experience in affordable housing, local government, and the third sector. At Abbeyfield Living Society, he plays a key role in overseeing growth, stock retention, and strategic partnerships with Homes England and the Greater London Authority. He has extensive experience supporting the wider sector through regulatory engagement, governance, and investment delivery. Abdul has and continues to actively contributes to national housing policy focused on older people’s housing and support including with the APPG for Housing & Care Older People, the Older Persons Taskforce, the Housing & Ageing Alliance, and BME National where he is the Lead for Ageing Well. His non-executive director roles have strengthened governance and sustainability across multiple housing associations, demonstrating a deep commitment to delivering quality homes and thriving communities.

Catherine Ryder
Chief Executive, PlaceShapers

Catherine previously led the Federation’s work on the Social Housing Green Paper. Catherine has also worked as Advisor to the Chief Executive at the Federation and has spent some time working on economic development and housing at Coast to Capital – a Local Enterprise Partnership in Surrey and Sussex. Before joining the Federation Catherine worked at the Audit Commission as a Strategy Manager, leading the development of assessment frameworks for local government.

John Ghader
Chief Executive, Prima Group

John has worked in Housing for over 35 years, both within Local Authorities and Housing Associations, and also spent some time working for the Audit Commission and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). John is a Fellow of the CIH and has an MBA from Bradford University. As Group CEO, John reports directly to the Prima Group Board and has overall responsibility for delivering the Group’s Corporate Strategy and is accountable for Prima Group, which includes: Pierhead Housing Association (PHA), Leasowe Community Homes (LCH) and Prima Commercial (PC). John is also an Executive Member of the Group’s Commercial Board.

Nick Byrne
Executive Director - Development, Citizen

Nick Byrne is Citizen Housing’s Executive Director of Development and also holds Non-Executive Director positions on MSV Housing’s board and Audit and Risk Committee.  Nick has worked in affordable housing development for over 30 years.

Rachael Dennis
Group Chief Executive, Incommunities Group

Rachael has been the Chief Executive of Incommunities since early 2021, overseeing more than 22,000 homes primarily in Bradford, with a significant presence across West Yorkshire. With over 20 years of leadership experience in social housing, Rachael is an expert in strategy, change management, and improving business operations. Having started out in finance as an accountant, her career has spanned various roles, covering both operations and strategy. Rachael has also held non-executive roles in housing, the NHS, and with arts charities. Rachael’s leadership at Incommunities has been focused on driving positive change in diverse communities. She’s led the organisation through a major transformation, addressing key challenges and setting up a strong foundation for growth. As a board member for the Northern Housing Consortium and Chair of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, Rachael is committed to bringing people together across the region to tackle housing issues and support the development of strong, sustainable communities.

Richard Cook
Chief Development Officer, Clarion Housing Group

Stephen Teagle
Chief Executive, Partnerships and Regeneration, Vistry Group

Stephen Teagle is the Chief Executive of Partnerships and Regeneration for Vistry Group the largest builder of affordable housing in England and a leading regeneration specialist. Working with Registered Providers and Local Authorities Countryside Partnership’s, led by Stephen, is in the vanguard of playing its part to increase the supply of housing and help build sustainable communities. Stephen is a chartered surveyor with over 30 years’ experience in the regeneration and affordable housing sectors, he joined Vistry Group following a successful period as CEO of the Partnerships arm of Galliford Try where he was in the vanguard of private developers receiving direct grant under the Affordable Homes programme. Before this Stephen worked for a major Registered Provider, where he was Group Director of Investment and Managing Director of a development subsidiary. He has been involved in a range of board level regeneration roles and was appointed as a statutory appointee to a Registered Provider and held board position to facilitate a subsequent merger. A respected housing commentator, Stephen is also Chair of The Housing Forum, a cross-sector membership network of 150 organisations and businesses that collaborates to promote improved supply and better quality homes.

Jess Mullins
Head of Member Relations, National Housing Federation

Jess has worked at the NHF since 2017. She has worked in our public affairs team and has been Head of Member relations since 2021 leading on equality, diversity and inclusion; general election work and larger housing association members. Prior to joining the NHF Jess worked in Parliament.

Charlie Riley
Development Director, Trent & Dove Housing

Helen Spencer
Executive Director of Growth, Great Places

Helen Spencer leads Great Places’ Growth directorate, overseeing all development activity, sales, regeneration, and construction. She leads our strategic partnerships and supports sector-wide collaboration.

Since joining Great Places in 2004, Helen has delivered thousands of new homes and led major regeneration projects and sales initiatives across the North-West and South Yorkshire. A dedicated mentor, she champions talent development and leads award-winning teams. Helen is passionate about inclusive housing, having pioneered the UK’s first majority LGBTQ+ Extra Care scheme. Under her leadership, Great Places has achieved record delivery and earned key industry accolades.

Sally Ingham
Development Director, Abri

Andrew Royall
Executive Director of Development, Hightown Housing Association