Castle Vale based Pioneer Group has appointed a new Chair to its Board.

Francis Burrows, Director of Support and Service Development at Orbit, has been a member of the Pioneer Group Board since 2019 and has now replaced Carole Wildman as Chair.

Carole joined the Board in 2017 and was appointed as Chair in September 2019.  Carole will remain on the Board as an Independent Member.

“Due to personal circumstances I decided to step down from the role of Chair at the Pioneer Group,” she confirmed.

“During my three years as chair we endured a pandemic, a cost of living crisis, and confirmed our G1 and V1 rating with the Regulator of Social Housing.  All of this could not have been achieved without the support of the Group Board, Chief Executive and the Senior leadership Team holding onto to our values, serving our communities.  I shall continue to serve as Board member championing our successes and good practice and look forward to working with Francis.”

Meanwhile, Simon Wilson, Group Chief Executive of the Pioneer Group commented: “I would like to thank Carole for her valuable contribution to the Pioneer Group as Chair.  She has helped to steer the organisation through a turbulent time for our tenants.

“The impact of the global pandemic and cost of living crisis have tested the organisation, but Carole has played a leading role in the positive response to both these challenges. We have continued to retain the highest regulatory gradings and responded to the impact of the Grenfell tragedy with a renewed focus on keeping our residents safe in their homes.

“Carole has been a champion of tenants and the work of Compass Support throughout her tenure as Chair and I am pleased we will continue to benefit from Carole’s knowledge and passion for our communities in her role as independent member. I look forward to working with Francis Burrows who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role and shares the same passion for customer and communities as Carole.”.

Francis, pictured, succeeded Carole on the 24^th of May.

“I’m delighted to be taking over as Chair of Pioneer Group and will build on Carole’s excellent work through her time as Chair,” he said.

“I am passionate about engaging with our communities and ensuring that tenant voices are heard and understood at the board and that we make all decisions with tenants as our core focus. I look forward to working with Simon, the board and the executive team and supporting Pioneer to continue to excel as a community focused provider.

“We are working in a complex and challenging environment with the impact of high cost of living and operating, the need to develop new homes and delivering high quality services for our tenants, and I will work with the team to deliver the best level of service and demonstrate the value that housing associations can deliver for our communities.”