Meet the speakers for the Housemark Leadership Conference 2026

Adam Kramer

Since joining Barclays in 2018, Adam has led the development of the bank’s Cyber Incident Response, Incident Management & Insider Threat programmes. He now advises client boards, c-suite and treasury teams on the cyber & fraud threat landscape, including emerging trends & practical advice on how to govern cyber risk.
Adam began his career in law enforcement, notably as a Detective within the UK Police Central eCrime Unit and progressing through to Chief Technologist in the UK National Crime Agency, National Cyber Crime Unit. Adam is also an Honorary Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Manchester.

Amanda Leonard

Amanda has built a distinguished career at Board and Executive levels within global FTSE 100 companies, including Vice President and Director roles at Sainsbury’s, Granada Group PLC, and Compass Group PLC. Her leadership spans fast-paced, customer-centric, and regulated sectors such as hospitality, travel, retail, and sport.

Since founding PerfectStorm Ltd in 2010, Amanda has brought her expertise to the housing sector, where she has become a passionate advocate for innovation and resident engagement. She played a pivotal role in the Clarion merger, collaborating with the Cabinet Office on the first post-Grenfell resident consultation. Amanda works extensively with Boards and Executive teams to shape strategy, governance, and communications. She also partners with data and technology businesses, like Housemark, to drive growth and has pioneered a new model for embedding the customer voice within housing providers—co-designing structures directly with residents to ensure meaningful involvement and impact.

Dan Blake

Dan is the Group Director of Communities for the Kingdom Group. He joined in November 2024. Dan leads a team of four specialist Directors across Kingdom’s Asset Management, Development, Housing, and Support & Care functions. Dan works closely with other colleagues in the senior management team to deliver Kingdom’s vision, mission and strategic objectives. Dan has over 15 years of experience within the social housing sector, working in senior roles across Scotland.

Gloria Yang

Gloria was appointed in April 2023 to lead on developing and maintaining the financial well-being of Moat and getting to know our customers, people, and partners in order to create and maximise investment opportunities in our communities. She is a passionate advocate of social housing, with a career that spans over 16 years in the sector. Gloria has enjoyed a variety of advisory, executive and non-executive finance roles at several housing associations, most recently at Origin Housing Group as Deputy CEO. She is currently a member of the Credit Committee at MORhomes PLC and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for Phoenix Community Housing and is a Fellow member of ACCA.

Helen Collins

Helen Collins joined Avison Young as Principal in October 2024. She has a dual role as Managing Director of the Midlands Regional office, and UK Head of Living and Affordable Housing .

Helens career spans 30+ years during which she has built and led multi-disciplinary teams in public and private sector settings. As trusted adviser she oversees delivery of development, investment, stock rationalisation and joint ventures. She has experience of leading through changing market and political cycles.

James Aidoo

His background in alternative education and as a multi award-winning Youth practitioner means that James has extensive experience in tackling some of the most complex issues related to student engagement as well as team culture and leadership development for middle and senior leaders.

Jonathan Cox

Jonathan has over 15 years of experience providing data analysis and business support to the social housing sector. He previously worked for two large London Housing Associations before joining the Housemark data team in 2012. Jonathan has delivered a range of data consultancy projects, and recent clients include Catalyst Group, Trivallis, Solihull Community Housing, Stonewater Group and Aster Group.

Kate Dodsworth

Kate started her housing career 30 years ago in homelessness, working with rough sleepers in Birmingham and later managing homeless hostels in Brighton. After completing a Master’s degree in Housing, she spent ten years at the National Housing Federation, latterly as Assistant Director covering London, the South East and East of England.

She went on to become Executive Director of People and Communications at Amicus Horizon, and post‑merger Optivo, and was Chief Executive of Gateway Housing Association for three years. Since July 2021, Kate has been Director of Consumer Regulation at the Regulator of Social Housing.

She was an external examiner at Westminster University until 2019 and is a co‑founder of Leadership2025, a charity working to increase Black representation in senior housing roles and tackle structural inequality.

Lara Oyedele

Lara Oyedele is CEO of Black on Board Ltd and former President of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). A passionate advocate for social justice, homelessness prevention and inclusive leadership, her lived experience of teenage homelessness has shaped a career dedicated to change in social housing.

Lara has held senior and frontline roles at LB Hammersmith & Fulham, Notting Hill Housing Trust, Eaves Housing for Women and Pinnacle PSG, and was CEO of Odu-Dua Housing Association. She co‑founded BMENational, supporting Black and minority ethnic housing providers, and helped develop the Migrant Rights Housing Information website.

As CIH President, her “In My Shoes” campaign challenged the lack of racial diversity in housing leadership. Lara chairs Hope Housing, has served on the boards of Southern Housing Group and Housing 21, and leads Lara Homes, delivering affordable family housing.

Lénaïc Couderc

Lenaic Couderc is an Analyst at Moody's Investors Service Ltd., where he has been involved in various roles, including an Associate Analyst at Moody's France SAS. His work involves analysing and rating the creditworthiness of various entities, including sovereigns and housing associations. Couderc's expertise is reflected in his contributions to Moody's credit opinion reports, which provide insights into the financial stability and risk profiles of different entities.

Michael Figg

Mike is Head of Social Housing at Barclay’s, leading a national team of Relationship Directors serving over 200 Registered Providers throughout the UK. Mike has over 20 years of experience in Financial Services across debt finance and relationship coverage. He has extensive experience in capital markets, working capital and development finance with both traditional house builders and social housing, sectors Barclays have brought together under Real Estate Finance.

Oli France

Paula Kennedy

Paula has worked in social housing for over 28 years, with 16 of these based in Wales. Appointed as Chief Executive in 2017, she brings with her a wealth of knowledge from her previous roles with Brunel Care and Herefordshire Housing.

Scott Bache

Scott Bache is Lead Product Manager at Housemark, one of the UK housing sector’s leading data and insight companies. He leads the development of digital products that help landlords harness the power of their data to improve services and performance. With a background spanning proptech and social housing, he brings a practical, product-led perspective on what it takes to deliver real value with emerging technology.

Alistair Smyth

Alistair joined the NHF in March 2023 on a 12-month secondment from The Guinness Partnership, where he held the role of Director of External Affairs and Social Investment.

Alistair has worked in the social housing sector for the last fifteen years in a wide range of roles and organisations including a previous spell at the NHF from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant on a range of neighbourhood and community empowerment projects. He also spent three years working in a customer-facing role as a Neighbourhood Manager and as Assistant Head of Neighbourhoods for Peabody. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Policy Advisory Committee.

Dan Hawthorne

Dan has over twenty-five years local government experience, for London boroughs and the Mayor of London. He currently leads Camden Council’s work across landlord and homelessness services, and on wider community support including with asylum seekers and refugees.

Before that, he was Executive Director for Housing & Social Investment at Kensington & Chelsea Council (where he led the housing service during recovery from the Grenfell tragedy); Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning at Haringey Council; Head of the London 2012 team at the Greater London Authority; and former Mayor Ken Livingstone’s senior advisor on planning and development. Dan is also co-chair of the London Housing Directors Group, and a trustee at the Centre for London.