Our People

Hexagon is run by a Board of Management made up of 12 Members, one third of whom are Hexagon residents. The Board leads on all strategic issues and ensures all decisions comply with the values and objectives of the association. Detailed financial work is delegated to the Audit & Risk Committee.

There are also three other committees: Growth & Viability, People & Governance and Customer Services.

You can find a list of Members’ Declarations of Interests here.

Hexagon also has an Executive Team who are responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation.


The Board

Mark Allan : Resident Board Member

Mark Allan

Resident Board Member

Mark is Chair of our Customer Services Committee and a member of our Audit & Risk Committee. He has extensive experience of social housing management as a member of ABC Southwark Housing Co-op, which manages 40 properties, most of which are owned by Hexagon. Mark works in the music industry as a band manager, and in IT. He also previously worked in a small housing association as a resident involvement officer. Mark believes in the crucial role of social housing in providing good homes for all people in our society, and in the value of a strong resident voice in Hexagon. Mark joined the Board in September 2016.


Roseann Ayton : Resident Board Member

Roseann Ayton

Resident Board Member

Roseann is a member of our Customer Services Committee. She has worked in the Social Housing Sector for 30 years and is a member of the UK ‘Housing Ombudsman’ Residents Panel. Roseann has produced Housing Strategies and a range of Corporate Policies for Local Government and is a qualified Leadership and Management Coach and Business Performance Coach. Roseann has provided Group Coaching to Senior Management Teams in support of large-scale transformational programmes. Roseann is also a Complaints Specialist and Customer Case Notes Trainer and has delivered training to over 200 frontline Housing Staff across the UK. Roseann joined the Board in September 2021.


Gursh Bains : Board Member

Gursh Bains

Board Member

Gursh joined the Hexagon Board in December 2022 and is the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. He is also the Director of Audit and Assurance at Barnardo’s and serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Octavia Housing. Previously Gursh has held leadership roles at Catalyst Housing, Hyde Housing and Deloitte. He is a chartered accountant and brings a wealth of Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Information Governance expertise. As a leader in his field, he is regularly invited to talk at national conferences. Gursh has a passion for Housing and believes everyone deserves an affordable and comfortable home.


Sheron Carter : Chief Executive

Sheron Carter

Chief Executive

Sheron is an experienced executive with a strong track record spanning 38 years in social housing and the charity sector. Sheron previously led three housing associations as a Chief Executive and a charity as its Managing Director. Sheron’s leadership roles have given her a good grasp of social housing operations, customer service, resident engagement, diversity and inclusion, governance, regulation, corporate strategy, business planning, and strategic partnerships.

Throughout her career Sheron has enjoyed helping organisations through challenging times and raising organisational confidence to achieve ambitious goals.


Ruth Chambers : Board Member

Ruth Chambers

Board Member

Ruth is a public policy and affairs specialist, with particular expertise in the not-for-profit sector. Ruth has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over twenty years, supporting and advising a wide range of organisations, including Natural England, the RSPB, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, the John Muir Trust, the National Housing Federation and World Animal Protection. Ruth joined the Board in September 2014, Chairs our People & Governance Committee and is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee.


Simon Fanshawe OBE : Chair

Simon Fanshawe OBE

Chair

Simon is a diversity consultant, broadcaster and author. He is the co-founder of the consultancy Diversity by Design. Diversity by Design works with a range of clients in the public and private sectors. He is currently on the Board of Powerful Women as well as Chairman of Hexagon. He was Chairman of Sussex University 2007-13, a non-exec director of Housing & Care 21, a Governor of the Museum of London and on the Board of Brighton Dome & Festival.  He was a co-founder of Stonewall and of the Kaleidoscope Trust. He was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to Higher Education and made an Honorary Doctor of the University of Sussex for services to diversity and human rights. Simon joined the Board in 2020 and as well as his role as Board Chair, he sits on the People & Governance and Growth & Viability Committees.


Tom Heys : Resident Board Member

Tom Heys

Resident Board Member

Tom has been a Hexagon resident since 2012. He has an LLB in Law and an MSc in Applied Statistics. He advises large companies in the UK and Ireland on gender pay gap reporting and is an expert in this area. Tom was formerly a Trustee with Bankside Open Spaces Trust.  He joined the board in September 2022 and sits on our People & Governance Committee.


Marcus Keys : Board Member

Marcus Keys

Board Member

Marcus joined the Board in October 2022 and chairs the Growth & Viability Committee. He is executive director of growth and development at Longhurst Group responsible for the development programme and asset investment across the Midlands and East of England. Marcus has a career spanning 25 years in housing including  experience in both the public and private sector, having previously worked for organisations such as the Balfour Beatty Group, Lovell, The Housing Forum, Futures Housing Group and Places for People.


Dawn Reid : Board Member

Dawn Reid

Board Member

Dawn Reid is a Director and has worked in the Housing sector for 13 years. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in Customer Experience, Transformation and Change and Customer Services. Dawn is also a qualified Career Coach and Mentor. When Dawn isn’t working in her day job, she works with other organisations to set and deliver their strategic ambitions through her Non-Executive Director roles in a variety of sectors including Housing, Criminal Justice, Services for young people and the NHS. Dawn is a member of our Customer Services Committee.


Denise Senner : Resident Board Member

Denise Senner

Resident Board Member

Denise (Denny)  currently runs a small gardening business for private clients, together with a business partner. Denny is a Hexagon resident and previously her home was managed by a housing co-op where she served as Chair and Secretary, taking on responsibility for the day to day running and management of the co-op. Denny joined the Board in September 2017 and is a member of the Customer Services Committee.


Claud Williams : Board Member

Claud Williams

Board Member

Claud Williams is an award-winning entrepreneur, board member, and executive coach. He is the founder of the personal development tech start-up Dream Nation, which has impacted the lives of thousands of young adults across the UK. He has worked with a number of great organisations such as Google, Barclays, and Cambridge University. Claud also serves as a board member for the NHS and an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association. Claud joined the Board in September 2021 and is a member of our People & Governance Committee.


Paul Williams : Vice Chair

Paul Williams

Vice Chair

Prior to his involvement in the social housing sector, Paul was employed as a professional accountant (FCCA) and consultant by PricewaterhouseCoopers in their London and Jamaican offices. In addition, he gained commercial experience at Barclays Bank International and at Fitch Lovell Plc (food manufacturing, retail and distribution). Paul was a Board Member at Rosebery Housing Association from 2010 to 2019 where he was Vice Chair, Chair of Audit & Risk, and a member of the Investment Committee. Paul is also a current Board Member at Octavia Housing, and Chair of Octavia’s Finance Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board and Audit and Risk Committees of Chichester Greyfriars Housing Association. Paul joined the Hexagon Board in 2020 and also serves as Vice Chair for Hexagon and as the Chair of Horniman HA (Hexagon’s subsidiary ). Paul is a member of the Audit & Risk and Growth & Viability Committees.