Group Board

Aster Group places a high priority on strong and high quality governance recognising that this is fundamental to our continuing success. Aster has been awarded the highest rating for governance for the last four years – a top green traffic light – and Aster is the only south west-based housing association with this accolade.

Our Non-executive Board Members and Executives work in close partnership with each other and relationships and links between Group companies are strong. We continuously monitor and review our governance arrangements so that we follow best practice and are equipped to meet the challenges of our changing environment.

The Aster Group Board is made up of 12 people; there are five independent members from the wider business community , a representative from each of Flourish, Ridgeway, Sarsen and Testway, one co-opted Chairman of Aster Property Management plus two executive directors.

Mel Cook
Group Chairman

Colin Martin
Group Vice Chairman

Bjorn Howard
Group Chief Executive

John Brace, Aster Group, Group Resources Director

John Brace
Group Resources Director

Group Board Members

Mel Cook, Chairman
(First appointed April 2005, appointed Chairman
September 2006).
Retired in 1996 after 32 years’ banking experience, Mel headed up the Corporate Business for Barclays Bank in Southampton. Since then he has been self-employed with a number of business interests including business consultancy and property. He serves as a magistrate in Southampton.
Mel previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Testway Housing for some years. When Testway joined the Aster Group in April 2005, he also became the Vice-Chairman of the Aster Group Board and a member of the Group Remuneration Committee. Mel is now Chairman of the Group, and also Vice-Chairman of the Group Remuneration Committee.

Colin Martin, Vice Chairman
(Appointed October 2003)
Colin had a 40 year career at Portman Building Society where he was Regulation Manager. He has significant high level experience in Housing Finance, and the Residential and Commercial property markets.
He has held posts including Head of Residential Lending, Head of Mortgage Services, Group Manager Regulatory Services, and was a Director of the Portman’s house building subsidiary, West of England Homes Ltd. He has been a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Social Housing Planning, the forum in which lenders work with government, the Housing Corporation and the NHF. Colin is Sarsen Housing Association's representative on the Group Board.

Bjorn Howard, Group Chief Executive
(Joined May 2009) Group Chief Executive
Bjorn has worked for several housing organisations in the public and independent sectors, having started his career at the Borough Council in Essex. In the early 1990s, he moved to Hampshire where he had several roles at East Hampshire HA before becoming Director of Housing & Care and then Director of Operations at Drum Housing Group.
In 2003, he was appointed to his first CEO post at Coastline Housing Ltd, a stock transfer housing association based in Cornwall, where he worked with colleagues to transform a failing company into one with excellent prospects for the future. Bjorn has previously served as a Statutory Appointee on the Board of a housing association that was in Supervision and, between 2006 and early 2010, was a non-executive director of the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust

John Brace, Group Resources Director
(Co-opted June 2006) Deputy Group Chief Executive and Group Resources Director.
John has been with Aster Group companies since 2000, when he joined as Sarsen’s Finance Director. Having first qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a national firm he then spent several years dealing with insolvent companies before moving to the commercial sector as Group Financial Controller for an Insurance Broking and Financial Services Group.
John brought his commercial skills to the social housing sector in 1993 when he was appointed as Finance Director and Company Secretary to Brunelcare, a charitable housing association for older people. There he was instrumental in establishing a new domiciliary care service as well as raising private finance to fund new nursing homes as well as housing schemes. After joining Sarsen John was heavily involved in the creation of Silbury Group and Aster Group and the mergers that followed.

Bob Cribb MBE
(Appointed October 2003)
Bob set up the Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO), a Ministry of Defence tri-service housing initiative in 1992, which provides civilian housing advice, information and where possible placement for service people and their dependants.
Particular achievements include the setting up of a placement centre for single service leavers in Catterick, North Yorkshire, the development of a 13 unit scheme for service leavers with English Churches Housing Group in Richmond, N.Yorkshire and a second 25 unit scheme in Aldershot. He has also been responsible for the promotion of HomeBuy schemes to secure personnel.

Susan Dear
(Appointed August 2005)
For 14 years Susan was a Board Director for the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and the Mail on Sunday; roles which demanded increasing profitability of the newspapers, strategic overviews, and new opportunities for increased sales. She previously held senior management positions in the newspaper industry. Board appointments include Chair of the Newspaper Publishers Association and Member of the London Chamber of Commerce, The London Tourist Board and The Mail Order Protection Scheme.
Since July 2003 Susan has operated a consultancy service in Wiltshire and currently provides home care support, on a voluntary basis, in the local community.

Doug Fisher
(Appointed September 2009)
After obtaining a Degree in Civil Engineering, Doug held a variety of positions in John Laing, British Steel and Wimpey, running civil engineering and housing contracts.
Since 1986 he has run a building and development company, worked as a management consultant and run a number of companies importing furniture. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Doug is Chairman of Aster Property Management.

Anne Goymer
(Appointed September 2008)
Anne is Assistant Director, Children’s Services at Barnardos. She is responsible for the strategic management of a wide portfolio of services for vulnerable families and children/young people; also financial planning, the investment of voluntary funds and Government grants, together with quality and performance management.
Her work is necessarily concerned with partnership working, involving the participation of children, parents and the wider community.

Susan Lewis
(Appointed February 2008)
Sue is currently a self employed Management and Child Care Consultant, and before that she has worked for the NSPCC and Wiltshire and Oxfordshire County Councils.
Amongst other interests she is also a Magistrate and a Member of the General Social Care Council Registration Committee (the regulatory body for social workers).

Geoffrey Mitchell
(Appointed September 2006)
Geoff has worked in local government, education, the Housing Corporation and consultancy. He has developed and reviewed strategic and business plans, and allocated financial resources in both Executive roles.
During 20 years with the Housing Corporation, as Director of Operations, he was responsible for policy and procedures relating to capital and revenue grants and allowances for Social Landlords. Geoff is a past non-Executive Director of the High Peak and Dales Primary Care Trust. He is Chairman of Testway Housing.

Wendy Murphy
(Appointed January 2006)
Wendy has an MBA in Business Administration, an MSc in Social Policy and Planning and is a Fellow of the Institute of Housing. As a self employed housing consultant, Wendy specialises in strategic housing issues including development of strategies and sub-regional partnerships, homelessness and access to housing and enabling new housing.
From 1993 to 2006 she worked for Bristol City Council, latterly as head of Strategic Housing and has also worked for the Housing Corporation. Wendy is Chariman of Flourish Homes.

Roger Shepherd
(Co-opted May 2006)
Although Roger retired in 2002, he has been engaged in interim management and financial planning and consultancy since October 1990.
He took articles in 1966 with what is now KPMG, and had a progressive career in a series of major blue chip companies. He was appointed Finance Director of Sealink UK Ltd in August 1986, and Finance Director of the Red Funnel Group in April 1988. He has also served as Chairman of Medina Housing and Care Group Ltd

Operating Companies

A key principle of our Group is that the operating companies, Flourish Homes, Ridgeway Community Housing Association, Sarsen Housing Association, Testway Housing and Aster Property Management, should have a large measure of independence in the day-to-day management and development of their businesses. We see that the best operational decisions are taken close to our customers as possible and that empowered staff deliver services to high standards.

Each operating company has its own Board and details will be found on their respective web sites.

Doug Fisher, Chairman, Aster Property Management

Wendy Murphy
Flourish Homes

Anne Goymer Ridgeway Community
Housing Association

Brian Jamieson
Sarsen Housing Association

Geoffrey Mitchell
Testway Housing

Doug Fisher
Aster Property
Management Ltd