Matt Baird has supported the Social Housing sector for more than 11 years in a multitude of ways, as Host of The Social Housing Round Table, as Co-Chair of the Board for Spring Housing, as a Social Housing Recruiter for over 11 years or as the host of events such as the South-West CIH Conference in 2023.

As someone with a real passion for the sector and a morale compass focused on those most in need, his ventures have always aimed to ensure the voices of all are heard whilst also encouraging debate and discussion which moves conversations and ideas forward, rather than leaves in a vacuum of complaining. He has recruited Heads of, Managers and Officers of Complaints teams nationally, keeping his finger on the pulse of such an ever-changing market whilst also consulting and guiding those he supports to truly value input from our own specialists and those externally.

Of his ventures, the most well-known is The Social Housing Round Table, a free weekly networking event for anyone and everyone to try and create change for the sector. It takes place on Zoom every Tuesday at 11am and with sessions covering everything from complaints and customer services through to sector culture and the risk register, it’s a place to encourage the sector to be honest with itself and truly get to the core of how we can make much needed change.

Verity Richards joined the Housing Ombudsman as the Head of Dispute Support in March 2021 after spending over 12 years working at a large, national housing association in various roles. She is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Housing and uses her skills and experience to ensure that we intervene fairly where there is evidence of delays in complaint handling by member landlords.

Since joining the Housing Ombudsman, Verity has overseen the expansion of our Dispute Support teams, developed our Customer Charter, refined our approach to managing unacceptable behaviours and delivered operational changes to case handling following changes set out in the Building Safety Act. Verity is the operational lead for the interactive online portal, having been involved in its design, development and trial prior to roll out in 2023.

Her current focus is leading operational change in response to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 20203 to ensure that landlords comply with the statutory Complaint Handing Code and that a strategic, intelligence-led approach is embedded in the Dispute Support function.

Jonathan is an experienced Complaints Manager who has worked in the Housing and Care sector for over 16 years. He spent 14 years as Anchor’s Customer Relations Manager with responsibility for overseeing its Customer Relations, Customer Insight, Customer Centre Support and Home Ownership Support Teams. Whilst at Achor, he implemented ‘Customer1st’ – an initiative that championed resident involvement and included forming the first resident complaints scrutiny group in the sector.

Jonathan is currently Complaints Manager at Abbeyfield Living Society where he has continued to promote service excellence by introducing complaints e-learning and complaints toolkits for colleagues. He also launched the ‘we welcome your feedback’ initiative, designed to gather direct feedback from residents and support the early resolution of complaints.

Jon is an associate of TPAS (Tenant Engagement Experts) and an associate at The Housing Mediators and through his various roles has delivering complaints handling training for colleagues, resident focus groups and Housing Associations.

Michael McGuigan is the Head of Customer Voice and Engagement at Gentoo Group, where listening to customers isn’t just a process—it’s a purpose. Michael leads in transforming feedback into action, ensuring that every customer’s voice shapes the services and decisions that matter most.

Under his leadership, Gentoo has strengthened its approach to complaints handling and embedded a culture where listening leads to change. Michael believes that when organisations truly hear their customers, they don’t just improve services—they build trust, fairness, and lasting relationships.

Geanna has over 20 years’ experience working in the social housing sector in executive and senior management roles.

She has a post graduate diploma in housing from the London School of Economics.

Geanna is the Board’s Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC).

Kirsteen provides change consultancy, interim leadership, programme management, and coaching and training to support value driven organisations on their transformation and change journeys.

With over 20 years experience (5 at Director level) working in and with local government and housing providers, she specialises in supporting customer focused organisations to transform the way they work, placing the customer at the heart of their approach.

Kirsteen’s recent experience in relation to complaints and customer experience includes:

• Leading a customer focused transformation programme for a London Borough, including a workstream focused on improving complaint handling, the amalgamation of their corporate and housing contact centres, and digital improvements to customer journeys
• Working with a North West landlord to improve complaint handling within repairs and planned maintenance teams and embedding a customer focused culture, including a stronger focus on learning from complaints.
• Carrying out a review of complaints in a large North East council at a time when their ALMO was being brought in house, leading to a redesign of their approach to complaint handling and better alignment to the joint code
• Director of a large North West council’s digital and customer service functions for nearly four years, during which time she implemented a new approach to complaint handling, resulting in fewer Stage 2 complaints
• Acting as Interim Director for Resident Services for a London Borough with responsibility for all customer service functions including establishing a resident experience improvement programme

Sean Lawless is Director of Customer Insight and Transformation at North Star Housing Group, leading the organisation’s work to deliver evidence-based, customer-centred services. He ensures tenant feedback drives continuous improvement, embedding insight across all areas of the business.

Sean oversees North Star’s Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), complaints learning framework, and consumer standards agenda — helping the organisation identify key themes behind dissatisfaction, strengthen learning loops, and benchmark performance against sector best practice.

Through a data-led approach, Sean has enhanced record keeping, improved responsiveness, and ensured that every complaint becomes an opportunity for learning and service improvement. Passionate about transparency, accountability, and customer voice, he champions innovation in using data and insight to deliver fairer outcomes and meaningful change.

I have worked within the Housing sector for the last 12 years in a range of front facing and senior positions, including 10 years spent with Clarion and their anti-social behaviour teams. As National Service Lead for ASB and Fraud I oversee the successful implementation of changes nationally to Improve compliance with internal policy and procedures, streamline working practices and implement best practice within the ASB sector.

Specialism

I am proud to have successfully held the appointment as Domestic Abuse Champion Lead for the last three years, alongside my current role. This role compliments my endless reach to improve the lives of our residents and communities, taking a victim centred approach and striving to enhance customers experiences with the housing sector.

Outside of work

My husband and I enjoy chasing after my one year old son and my spaniel on long country walks (preferably to the local pub).

Matt Baird has supported the Social Housing sector for more than 11 years in a multitude of ways, as Host of The Social Housing Round Table, as Co-Chair of the Board for Spring Housing, as a Social Housing Recruiter for over 11 years or as the host of events such as the South-West CIH Conference in 2023.

As someone with a real passion for the sector and a morale compass focused on those most in need, his ventures have always aimed to ensure the voices of all are heard whilst also encouraging debate and discussion which moves conversations and ideas forward, rather than leaves in a vacuum of complaining. He has recruited Heads of, Managers and Officers of Complaints teams nationally, keeping his finger on the pulse of such an ever-changing market whilst also consulting and guiding those he supports to truly value input from our own specialists and those externally.

Of his ventures, the most well-known is The Social Housing Round Table, a free weekly networking event for anyone and everyone to try and create change for the sector. It takes place on Zoom every Tuesday at 11am and with sessions covering everything from complaints and customer services through to sector culture and the risk register, it’s a place to encourage the sector to be honest with itself and truly get to the core of how we can make much needed change.