About Zen

Our Board

Each of the registered providers within Zen Housing Group is governed by a board, which is accountable to the Regulator of Social Housing.

  • Sketch of Lesley Seary CBE

    Lesley Seary CBE

    Independent Non-Executive Chair

    Lesley brings to the board her significant experience of the public sector, having a 30-year public sector career, ending with eight years as the Chief Executive of Islington Council. She has worked across housing and community engagement, and holds further board positions at BHRUT, Barts Health and Redbridge Institute for Adult Education.

  • Sketch of Owen Ingram

    Owen Ingram

    Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

    Owen joined the Zen Housing Board as an independent non-executive director in July 2020 and brings extensive executive, non-executive and turnaround experience across the housing sector. He has held a number of interim Chief Executive, Chair and Board roles across housing associations, with particular experience of supporting organisations through regulatory, governance and financial challenge. Owen brings significant expertise in governance, organisational improvement, customer services and regulatory engagement.

  • Sketch of Ellison Riddle

    Ellison Riddle

    Non-Executive Director, Audit and Risk Committee member

    Ellison has served in CFO and COO roles responsible for the financial, regulatory, reporting, operational and risk aspects of real estate businesses. He is an FCA authorised person and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, having trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ellison also chairs the Resources and Finance Committee as a school governor.

  • Sketch of Helen Evans

    Helen Evans

    Independent Non-Executive Director

    Helen previously served as Deputy CEO of Sovereign Network Group and CEO of Network Homes. Earlier in her career she worked with Brent Council, first as Director of Housing Management and later as CEO of their management company, where she oversaw 13,500 homes. She currently serves at Paradigm Housing Association and as Deputy Chair at South London and Maudsley Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

  • Sketch of Alan Ward

    Alan Ward

    Independent Non-Executive Director, Audit and Risk Committee member

    Alan brings extensive executive leadership and governance experience to the board, having most recently served as Chief Governance and Strategic Growth Officer at Abri Group and previously as Chief Executive of Silva Homes. He led Somer Housing Group, overseeing more than 11,000 homes, and now operates through Homeward Consulting and Savills.

  • Sketch of David Bridges

    David Bridges

    Independent Non-Executive Director

    David is an experienced board level operator in the housing and property world, having served as Chief Executive at Kier Living, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England and on Boards and Executive Boards at organisations such as Aster, McCarthy & Stone, Keepmoat and Linden Homes. David brings deep development experience to the Zen board, as well as the lessons from his functional background in sales, marketing and customer experience.

  • Sketch of Rob Griffiths

    Rob Griffiths

    Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

    Rob is an experienced housing sector executive with over 20 years’ experience operating at Executive and Board level, including as Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Longhurst Group and, more recently, Deputy Chief Executive at Amplius. Rob brings significant experience in finance, treasury, risk and regulatory compliance, alongside broader operational experience across housing, customer services and repairs. He also brings extensive governance and assurance experience, having previously served as a NED and Chair of Audit & Risk at Lincolnshire Housing Partnership.

  • Sketch of Sergey Pichugin

    Sergey Pichugin

    Executive Director

    Sergey is an experienced affordable housing and real estate professional, having held senior roles across both Registered Providers and institutional residential investment. Sergey is an Executive Director of Zen Housing and Operations Director of Zen Living Management, with responsibility across operations, governance, regulatory compliance and asset management. He has played a key role in growing Zen from 24 homes in delivery to more than 1,600 homes and brings experience across affordable housing investment, operational delivery and regulation, having previously worked at Gresham House and ReSI Capital Management.