Peabody appoints new Chair

Caroline Corby has been appointed as the new Chair of the Peabody Group following a competitive recruitment process. She will take up the role on 1 April 2024 with current interim Chair David Hardy becoming Vice-Chair of the Group.

Published: 09/01/2024

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Caroline has a professional background in finance and investment, and extensive public sector and commercial non-executive and Chair experience in social housing, care and support and regulatory standards. Having sat on multiple private sector and not-for-profit and public sector boards, Caroline brings a wealth of experience in scrutinising performance, championing equality, diversity and inclusion and driving continuous improvement in large, complex organisations.

She has served on the Board of One Housing since 2018, becoming Chair in 2020, and is also Vice-Chair of the Riverside Group. These roles are coming to an end in March this year.

Caroline will continue to chair The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care and the Parole Board for England and Wales. She will also continue to serve on the management committee of the Public Chairs’ Forum, which works to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services delivery in the UK, and as a non-executive director of the Security Industry Authority.

Caroline Corby, Incoming Chair of Peabody said: “I deeply value the history, ethos, values and work of Peabody and I’m honoured to be taking up the position of Chair. I’m looking forward to working with Ian and the Executive Team and am fully supportive of the organisation’s local focus and commitment to helping people flourish. I can’t wait to get started and plan to visit estates and local teams and meet as many residents and colleagues as I can during my induction over the next few months.”

Ian McDermott, Chief Executive Officer of Peabody said: “On behalf of everyone at Peabody I’m delighted to welcome Caroline to the organisation. Her experience, clarity and insight will be a great addition to the Board, and I know our purpose and values are perfectly aligned. I would also like to thank David Hardy for his support and strong stewardship as interim chair. We’re operating in challenging times, but with Caroline at the helm of a strong Board we’re well placed to keep improving and investing for the benefit of our residents and the communities we serve.”

The process of recruiting for a new Chair was supported by a panel of five residents and Green Park Consultancy. The residents prepared a series of questions and met five shortlisted candidates over two days.