I have been CEO of this award wining sales, marketing and distribution SME for three decades. During this time my team and I have been able to grow the business more than seven-fold . We manage high quality/performance brands sold into the construction, engineering, plumbing, electrical, auto, safety, OEM, DIY and related sectors. A third warehouse has been built to help us accommodate our growth. We are really good at working with our overseas partners in building their brand (by joint investment) in the competitive (and very cyclical) UK market. Our sector is quite conservative but our track record means we have built up great relations and trust with all the main supply channels and key players.

SCH manages over 10,000 homes for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, making it one of the largest arms length management organisations (ALMO) in the Country.

The Council is the University’s executive governing body, responsible for the financial, property, investments and general business of the University, and for setting the general strategic direction of the institution. The National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) is a world class research collaboration building. The Estates Committee is responsible for the physical planning and construction of the University's campuses and precincts and the acquisition /disposal of land. The STEM grand challenge is leading the development of the strategic brief of how the University will deliver world class STEM education.

HouseMark are the leading provider of social housing data and insight in the housing sector. Over 400 housing organisations are a part of HouseMark. They are jointly owned by the Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation - two social housing sector not-for-profit organisations that reinvest their surpluses into the sector. Richard was appointed Chair in December 2022 after having served as interim Chair.

Thinkhouse.org.uk is a online research hub for the housing sector. It holds a library of the best and most innovative research pieces, policy publications and case studies that propose ways to increase the amount and quality of the UK's housing stock and the related economic, social and community benefits of doing this. The site is curated by an independent editorial panel, who assess each report that goes onto the site to determine whether it merits being included in the 'must read' section. The overall objective is to provide easy access to a few key reports and provide a home for all relevant work. These will help inform policy makers who are engaged in understanding how we can build more and better homes and communities, improve knowledge transfer and provide evidence/ideas to drive decision making. To promote new research, the Panel hold an early career researcher's competition, The Editorial Panel have a mix of skills, backgrounds and experience in housing. They share a desire to see more and better homes built.

The CBI's lead body to represent SMEs at a national leve that meets quarterly with Ministers and key national figures in the SME sector.

Construction and development services company building up to 300 affordable (including shared ownership and open market sale) homes per year. Iceni is an innovative joint venture between three housing associations in the East of England. I was recruited as the first independent chair to review corporate governance and ensure the business was fit to take on the many changes currently occurring in the sector. My focus was on ensuring Iceni continued to be a successful and cost effective housing delivery vehicles for its partners and customers whilst helping to develop new products and innovative ways of delivering new homes.

I was asked to chair of the project board that is responsible for the £6m project to recreate and re-imagine Shakespeare's New Place. New Place was owned by Shakespeare for 19 years. It is where he is believed to have written a number of his plays and where he died in 1616. The house was knocked down in the 18th century. Recent archaeological work has found its footprint. The project was completed in Autumn 2016 as was part of the national celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Prince Charles was an early visitor and it is already becoming a major new heritage tourist attraction.

The HCA (now Homes England) was the national housing and regeneration agency for England and the regulator of social housing (now RSH). It was responsible for delivering a range of Government housing programmes, including the £10bn Help to Buy scheme. It also managed the disposal of surplus government land and had a multi-billion portfolio of land and property investments and loans. I served on the Board for three years and left to Chair Iceni Homes. I was a member of the investment and audit committees. On the latter I focused on the risk management systems, including how to simplify reporting. I was also the Health and Safety champion, which was an interesting challenge given the number of sites the HCA owned. My time on the Board coincided with a number of high profile regulatory events. Whilst the regulation committee was directly responsible, the HCA structure meant the Board had overall leadership.

Centro (now Transport West Midlands) handles one million passengers a day, making it the UK’s largest public transport authority outside London. It is responsible for leading a number of complex transport related land and property transactions such the Snow Hill station second entrance and the city centre tram extension. This exposed me to some major transport and land related investment decision. During my time on the Board Centro also introduced a smart (oyster) travel card. This was a nationally significant programme that the non-execs played an important role in trying to ensure that it delivered on time and to budget and took account of changes in technology and IT.

SBT is a charity set up by an Act of Parliament to care for Stratford’s Shakespearian properties. It does not receive a public subsidy and its income is primarily derived from its operations as one of the UK’s leading heritage tourist attractions. I was Deputy Chairman for a number of years. During my time the Board led a change process to reverse decline income. I also helped set up and was the first chair of the Trust's property and investment committee which was responsible for improving the management of a significant property and investment portfolio. For a short period I was centre of a social media storm around a proposal for the Trust to sell a piece of land.

Midland Heart is one of the UK largest housing associations. It has 32,000 properties and an extensive portfolio of care homes making it one of the largest UK housing associations. I left the Board to join the HCA. My main focus whilst on the Board was understanding how their mix of properties drove their business plan. I was also improved my understanding of how housing and a secure environment helped individuals recover and rebuild their lives. I worked with HACT to translate this experience into their 2014 report on New Approaches to Tenancy Management.

The Government offices were closed down in 2011 and the non-execs played an important oversight and challenge role in this process. Governance was channeled through the audit committee with a focus on safeguarding assets, staff morale and systematic management. The process was complicated by difficulty in locking in key management. Whilst only a short appointment due to the closure it was one of the most interesting and challenging roles I have held due to pace the changes were being implemented.

Start up VC funded software/appliance developer. I was an early investor in this business and have remained close to the leadership team whilst they have continued to build their customer base (they supply 100+ countries). They are a big recruiter of graduates and have developed a really supportive and innovative culture able to manage the complex IT issues across a number of platforms in difference countries.

The Regional Development agency had an annual £330m budget to promote and lead economic development. It had an extensive land and property portfolio and I was involved in the setting up a joint venture to manage some of the more complex development and investment assets. I chaired the West Midlands Broadband Company and Regional Observatory. The former was responsible for working with universities and government to roll out broadband across the West Mids. A very challenging process. The observatory was a data and intelligence organisation that assessed the Wet Mids performance and policy initiatives. It was right at the centre of what the RDA was trying to achieve was run a by great team and one of the most fascinating NED roles I have ever done. I also chaired the Board meeting that invested £100m in the New Street Station redevelopment. I was Chair of the HR committee and Dep Chair of the Audit Cmmt.

The UK most established venture capital, private equity organisation. Supported and led debt and equity investments into SMEs

Qualified as a Chartered Accountant.