Elmbridge Board of Directors

David Edwards (Chair) – is a chartered surveyor and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He has over 25 years experience as a director working in planning, development and housing. He is Director of Housing and Regeneration at Oxford City Council. He was a director at the Homes and Communities Agency and at English Partnerships. He was Head of Regeneration, Land and Property in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Previously he was in the private sector including working for over ten years at Arup, the international design and development practice. Last year he retired from the group board at East Thames housing association. David was elected as Chair of Elmbridge Housing Trust in November 2011.

Councillor James Vickers (Vice Chair) - is an Elmbridge Borough Council nominated board member. James lives in Stoke D’Abernon and has 29 years commercial experience, mostly in senior management. Initially employed by a leading US multinational company, he broadened his experience and skills working for smaller organisations. James has held several management, team leading and administrative roles, heading up market development at international levels. James was elected to Elmbridge Borough Council in May 1992; he has served on the Housing and Community Services Committee and currently serves on the Environmental Services and Leisure Services Committees and the Best Value Sub-Committee. James joined the Board in 2000.

Michael Durrance MIfL, DMS - is a tenant board member and has spent 32 years in local government and education. Michael has spent the last 15 years as a lecturer in tertiary education teaching 14 – 19 year old students business management. Before this he started his career in medical technology in the fields of quality control, sales and marketing. Michael first became involved with EHT in 2005 as a member of the Service Improvement Panels (SIPs) and joined the Board in 2010.

Councillor Christine Elmer – is an Elmbridge Borough Council nominated board member. Christine’s interests and responsibilities cover health matters and services for older and disabled people (Meals on Wheels Service, Community Transport, Community Alarm and Relief Carers Scheme). Christine is also a Trustee of Walton Charity and a member of management board Mediation North Surrey which works to offer a free mediation service to try and resolve amicably neighbourhood disputes.

Christine has 24 years experience working for MAFF and Defra on development of animal health disease control policy and surveillance in zoonotic diseases. She has worked on contingency planning for the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks and Avian Influenza. Christine joined the Board in 2006.

Richard Harris – is a qualified town planner and has worked for Lancashire County Council, the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire sub-regional planning unit, and Nottingham City Council in a variety of planning posts. Richard was also Head of Corporate Planning with Suffolk County Council and subsequently became Assistant County Clerk with Suffolk County Council.

Richard later moved to Epsom and Ewell Borough Council as Deputy Chief Executive where his responsiblities  included housing and the redevelopment of redundant hospitals to create a major expansion of the housing stock.  Richard joined the Planning division of Broadway Malyan Architects, and worked on a number of major projects, many involving the provision of social housing.

Richard was Chair of Mount Green and now is the Chair of Epsom and Ewell Housing Association. Richard joined the Board in 2009.

Councillor Shweta Kapadia - is an Elmbridge Borough Council nominated board member. Shweta is an architect who has worked on multi-million pound projects both in the UK and abroad, notably on designs for a boarding school, a desalination plant, a township, and steel rolling mills. She was elected to Elmbridge Borough Council as Liberal Democrat councillor for Long Ditton in 2000 and currently is on the Planning and Licensing Committee and is Vice-Chair of the East Area Planning Sub-Committee. Shweta is also LEA Governor at Long Ditton Infant & Nursery School. Shweta joined the Board in 2003.

Heather Kerswell - is a chartered town planner and during her career in the public sector has been Director of Development for the London Borough of Greenwich and Chief Executive of Mole Valley Council in Surrey where she oversaw the first stages of the transfer of Mole Valley’s housing stock. Currently she is a planning and management consultant and has been acting chief executive of two charitable trusts in Kent, among other assignments. She is an independent member of the Surrey Police Authority where she chairs the Audit Committee. Heather joined the Board in June 2011.

Joan Mulcahy - is a management consultant whose clients include both charities and commercial companies. She is a professionally qualified accountant and an experienced board level director with significant experience in the banking industry. Previously she worked for Allied Irish Bank Group where she held a variety of roles, culminating as Chief Operating Officer and Board Director of AIB Group (UK) PLC. She currently undertakes a number of non executive roles in various strategic bodies and companies. She is Chair of AEAT Pension Trustees Limited. She is a non-Executive Director as well as Chair of the Audit Committee of Kingston Hospital NHS Trust. She holds an MBA and is a graduate of University College Dublin. Joan joined the Board in 2009.

Gemma Saffhill – is an affordable housing consultant in a town planning consultancy that advises both private and public sector organisations. Having worked in affordable housing for other private sector organisations and the Homes and Communities Agency, Gemma has extensive experience in negotiating legal agreements associated with major planning aplications and the delivery of affordable housing. Gemma joined the Board in 2009.