Meet our new chair of the board

Say hello to our new interim chair, Dave Power.

Dave enjoyed an extremely brief retirement before joining us on 1 September. Up until the end of January 2020, he was group Chief Executive for One Manchester.

With responsibility for over 12,500 social homes across the city, Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our board. 

He has worked in housing for over 40 years in local authorities around the country before taking up senior posts with local housing organisations including City South and Places for People.

Dave has worked across our city for 12 years and as such has a strong understanding of the council’s strategic objectives. He is passionate about the contribution decent housing makes to strengthening our communities.

The future

Dave said: “I’m aware that Northwards is facing a period of change and hope my past experiences will help the board steer us through this together. It’s about setting a plan that protects and invests in residents, staff and our places and has the commitment of all parties.

"Northwards has been a community anchor in north Manchester and I want to ensure the resilience of our community is maintained along with plans for future investment. My priority is to work with the Northwards team, stakeholders and residents to set a clear future direction.”

A big thanks to Sue

Dave joining us means we must say goodbye to Sue Abbott, who steps down as chair after nine years of dedicated service. Sue has lived in her Northwards home since 1991 and has been involved with us since the beginning. After working for the Home Office for 38 years, Sue is enjoying an active retirement, volunteering not only with Northwards but also the fire service. She sits on the Board of the National Federation of ALMOS too.

Sue said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Northwards, it’s given me so many opportunities to try different things. I wish David and the whole team all the very best for the future.”

We would like to thank Sue for her hard work and dedication over the years and we will be keeping in touch.