Registered Provider Board

Non-Executive Board Members

Michael Birkett

Chair

Michael is the Chair of Plexus and also a member of the People and Governance Committee. Michael has had a long career in housing and regeneration and since 2014 has been the Group Chief Executive of The Regenda Group, a North-West based Registered Provider. Prior to joining Regenda, he spent eight years as Chief Executive of The Calico Group. Michael has also held numerous Non-Executive Director roles and is currently Chair of the Fabric District CIC that is focussed upon the regeneration of the London Road area of Liverpool City Centre. Michael has a Doctorate from the University of Bristol and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Non-executive Director and Chair of Audit & Risk Committee

Paul joined Plexus and Omega Boards in 2024. He is currently Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee . He brings over 30 years of expertise in risk and financial management, governance, leadership, and strategy, as well as considerable housing sector experience from various executive and non executive roles since joining the sector in 2009. During that time Paul has been an Executive Director with Guinness Partnership and held various Non Executive Director roles including chairing Group Boards, Audit&Risk and People Committees with several Registered Providers, where he has also held Senior Independent Director roles. In addition, Paul provides independent consulting services, and he continues to be a keen advocate for better practice across the housing sector with respect to fraud risk management.

Non-executive Director and Chair of Customer Experience Committee ‍

Ashley has a 38-year career in social housing and is currently Chief Executive of the housing and social justice charity Commonweal Housing. Ashley has set up new housing associations and was a member of the senior Civil Service heading up the delivery of the 2001 Labour Government manifesto commitment to reduce the use of B&B for homeless families with children. For 3 years, Ashley was Chief Executive of the campaigning charity the Empty Homes Agency. In addition to his executive roles, Ashley has over 23 years’ experience as a housing association Board member. Ashley is currently Chair of the Customer Experience Committee.

Roisin Reynolds

Non-executive Director and Chair of Nominations Committee

Roisin is a Non-Executive Director, as well as a credentialed executive coach and consultant, with two decades' experience in economic development. She is committed to social impact and good governance. She currently serves on three Boards, with Audit & Risk and People & Remuneration experience. Roisin holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, an Executive MBA from Warwick Business School, and a BA(Hons) in English from Trinity College Dublin. She is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach with Institute for Executive Coaching & Leadership accreditation and is Hogan certified.

Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Board Member

Deborah is the Executive Director of Homes, Communities and Environment at Basildon Council, bringing over 30 years of experience across both Local Government and Registered Providers. Throughout her career, she has developed extensive expertise in housing, community services, and organisational leadership. With a particular interest in housing finance, Deborah has spoken at national conferences, sharing insights into the challenges facing local authority housing finances and the factors contributing to the sector's financial pressures. Her motivation for joining the Plexus Board stems from a passion for sharing housing best practice and collaborating with like-minded leaders who are committed to delivering excellence for tenants while maintaining a strong commercial focus and ensuring long-term organisational sustainability.

Emily-Rae Bains

Non-executive Director

Emily-Rae sits on Plexus Customer Experience Commitee, alongside her role as a Board Member. Emily-Rae runs Golden Thread Housing Solutions and is an experienced social housing professional with a strong record of supporting organisations to meet regulatory standards. She is particularly committed to seeing the voice of tenants and residents leading change. A former Housing Heroes New Professional of the Year (2017), she has held leadership roles in Local Authority housing services, overseeing housing management, new-build delivery, and strategic partnerships. She is a Chartered Member of the CIH, having completed her CIH Level 5 and holds a master's in social and public policy, an ILM Level 7 in Strategic Leadership.

Non-executive Director

Siew Lim is an independent Non-Executive Director and former international financial services executive with over 25 years' experience in governance, risk and regulatory oversight. Her executive career included senior leadership roles at Deutsche Bank and Santander in complex, highly regulated environments. She brings an enterprise-wide perspective, constructive challenge and a focus on how governance, risk and assurance support organisational resilience and sustainable outcomes.

Committee Members

Hannah Ashley Fraser

Independent Committee Members

Hannah Ashley Fraser is a senior housing leader with over 20 years’ experience in operational delivery, resident services, compliance, and organisational leadership. As Director of Homes & Customer Experience at B&D Reside, she oversees an integrated portfolio spanning asset management, building safety, statutory compliance, repairs and maintenance, estate services, customer engagement, complaints, and resident insight. Hannah’s career includes senior roles across local authority and housing association environments, where she has led major service improvements, strengthened strategic asset management functions, and delivered compliance driven transformation. She is recognised for her strategic clarity, assurance led decision making, and ability to build strong, accountable teams that deliver consistently high quality outcomes for residents and partners.

Independent Committee Members

Vicki is the Lead Member Responsible for Complaints on the Customer Experience Committee and is an interim Board Member for Plexus. Vicki has worked in the housing sector since 1989 for Local Authorities and studied at De Montfort University Leicester, gaining a BSc with Distinction in Housing Studies in the late 90’s. Vicki is currently an elected member serving on North Northamptonshire Council and their Children’s, Young People and Education Scrutiny Committee and Housing Assurance and Compliance Board. Vicki is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Executive Board Members

Executive Director

A housing professional who serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Mears Group. He has over 30 years of experience in the social housing, property, and finance sectors, playing a critical role in managing the company's major public-sector outsourcing operations. John leads a growing business providing RPs, Central Government, Local Authorities and Investors with contracted management services and development of new housing supply through the Mears Not For Profit Registered Provider. With 17,000 homes in management across the UK Mears provides a variety of tenures: Homelessness, Affordable, Care and Market Rent. A key objective is to structure new finance models which enable new housing supply to meet need in innovative structures.

Executive Director

Ashley is responsible for the finance and commercial functions of Plexus and is based in Gloucester. He joined Mears Group in 2002 and has been a key member of the Plexus team for more than a decade. Ashley qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 2011 and brings extensive financial and commercial expertise to the business.