To kick off The HIP for 2024, we sit down with Mark Howden, Chief Executive of Peaks & Plains. Peaks & Plains is a social housing provider based in Macclesfield which Mark joined as Interim Chief Executive after his tenure with Balfour Beatty.
Mark shares with us his interesting path into housing and his experience transitioning from the private sector to the public sector. We speak about the regulatory challenges that Peaks & Plains faced in the past, and how Mark was able to galvanise the organisation during this time and eventually regain its G1 status.
We speak about Mark’s mantra of ‘profit for purpose’ and why profit is seen as a taboo subject in the sector. We also touch on what needs to be done to improve things for the sector long term, and how a change in government could affect it.
In this episode, we cover:
- Mark’s intriguing journey into housing.
- The experience of transitioning from the private sector to the public sector.
- How Mark pulled his teams together to regain their G1 status.
- Why Mark has resisted the return to the office for his staff.
- Will things change in the sector with a government change?
- Why is profit a taboo subject within the social housing sector?
- The future for Peaks & Plains in 2024 and beyond.