Chair of the Board of Trustees – sits on Audit & Assurance Committee

I have over 40 years experience on the West Midlands property market and have worked within private practise, local and central government before retiring in March 2022.

I joined Pennycuick Collins Chartered Surveyors in 1999 to establish a commercial property department specialising in property management, landlord and tenant issues which is where I became aware of the work Lench’s Trust undertook.

I have also been involved on a local, national and international basis representing surveying via my work with the RICS.

I am currently a National Judge for the RICS Awards where he judges the commercial award category. I have recently taken on various trustee roles with various local charities including the Richard Kilcuppes Trust and Friends of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.

I am also a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton lecturing in Property management.

Why become a Trustee

I have acted as a Trustee for a number of years with a small charity but upon retiring from business. I felt it would be good to expand my interest and also “give something back” to Birmingham and the community.

I’m a “Brummie” born in the City and I have spent my entire working life with companies based here, I thought it would be nice to use whatever skills and knowledge I have built up over the years to help other organisations and people if I could. Fortunately, I have worked with Lench’s Trust over many years and when Jean-Luc approached me, to see if I would be interested in joining the Board of Trustees, I was delighted to accept.

Outside of the Trust I am an active Grandfather and have a keen interest in football (just watch these days unfortunately), history, walking and travel.

I look forward to my continued involvement over the years with everyone associated with Lench’s Trust and to meet many more of you.

Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees Chair of Audit & Assurance Committee – also sits on Grant Making Trust Committee

I’m Ali, and I am a Trustee and Chair of the Audit and Assurance Committee for the Trust

I work in the audit profession for Beever and Struthers Chartered Accountants. Since the early 1990’s I have dealt almost exclusively with the Social Housing Sector, which I absolutely love, there are some great people who work in the housing sector and I enjoy the day to day interaction I have with the different teams I work with.

The nitty-gritty : Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) , Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, BSc (Hons) Business Finance and Economics

My story : I joined the Board of Trustees in 2022. In my previous employment I was the Audit Manager for Lench’s, so was very proud and honoured when Jean-Luc asked me to be on the Board. At the same time as I joined the Board of Trustees, I was also asked to take on the role as Chair the Finance and Audit Committee, which has recently been renamed the Audit and Assurance Committee.

I do this too… Outside of work, I love to run, cycle and go to the gym, so I like to keep active, never sitting still as I get bored easily! At home, my time is spent in the kitchen, I love to cook, (whilst sipping red wine) and also help my other half out in the garden, basically do what I’m told 😊 We keep chickens and sell the eggs when we get inundated, which is often!!

I am a chartered accountant with over 12 years of experience of helping businesses with turnaround and restructuring solutions.

Whilst I am numbers person, my true passion is in for developing people and improving their outlook in life, particularly those that are vulnerable and less fortunate.

My other interests include playing jungle gym with my 3 young children, and when they are being half sensible we try packing our bags to explore the world.

Deputy Chair of Audit & Assurance Committee – also sits on Grant Making Trust Committee

My name is Ruth Evans. I am a senior leader with over 30 years’ experience in Customer and Patient Experience; I am incredibly honoured to have been awarded an MBE for some of this work.

Working as a Trustee for Lench is something I am very proud to do, as a Brumophile recognising the importance of looking after people who need a safe home. I am inspired by our charitable work and by the vison of William Lench who established Lench’s Trust back in 1526. I wonder if he could have imagined the impact he would have!

I bring a people focus both residents and colleagues. It is important to me that we consider the experience of our people and do the best we can to make this a great one.

My other interests include playing hockey for my local club, gardening and being with my family.

Audit & Assurance Committee

Happy to be known as Kam!

Skills and experience: A Chartered Accountant by profession who has experience in audit, corporate tax, transfer pricing, large groups, charity sector and most recently IT.

What I offer to Lench’s: I offer an array of skills from my financial, accounting, tax , IT and community work background and is proficient with working with different beneficiary groups.

Other interests: Kam’s hobbies include walking, experimental cooking and voluntary work.

Audit & Assurance Committee

Audit & Assurance Committee

I have over two decades of experience in the Social Care and Housing sectors, where I have focused on supporting diverse service user groups, including individuals with Autism, Learning Disabilities, and Mental Health needs. Over my career, I have successfully led projects designed to address complex social challenges and drive meaningful change. I have also been actively involved in the development of a range of projects that have been designed to address specific, sometimes urgent, community needs and to empower individuals toward greater independence and well-being.

My strengths lie in service improvement, strategic leadership, and community-focused project development. I am committed to fostering inclusive environments where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds or needs, can access the support and resources they need to thrive. I am particularly passionate about service user-led improvements and developing services that address the diverse needs of individuals from all backgrounds.

Outside of work I am a part-time postgraduate researcher at the University of Birmingham’s Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) interested in the intersection of autism and cultural backgrounds with a particular focus on exploring how cultural backgrounds influence the utilisation and experience of adult autism services in the UK. My spare time is spent watching matches in the Central Warwickshire Youth Football League supporting Harborne Youth U16.

Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Built Environment at Birmingham City University.

She has broad experience in the housing sector in the UK and in Europe and as leader of the Centre for Future Homes, works to achieve social and environmental impacts contributing to healthy living by reducing illness and increasing wellbeing by enabling occupants to live in healthy and safer homes in low carbon communities.

Louise’s background includes her current role as Partnerships Director - UK Senior & Global Programmes at Common Purpose. She brings skills in high level facilitation and chairing, coaching, leadership programme design and delivery and business development. Previous roles have included working in crisis and issues management, community and stakeholder relations, communications, and marketing, and – many years ago – housing and construction.

I hope that my objectivity, from outside the sector, will help bring a different perspective and curiosity to the board – and hopefully spot, or develop, some different connections that might not be obvious. My strengths lie in helping people, and teams, develop the mindset, cultural intelligence and self-awareness needed, to become good leaders, but also an important part of my work is around social value – connecting people, organisations and insights for the benefit of people and place. Although I work internationally, and across the UK, my heart and ‘patch’ has always been in Birmingham and the West Midlands. I am passionate about equity and inclusivity and use my ‘soft’ power to help create opportunities, through my cross-sector network, to make a difference for people and place. Also I’m very active on social media – so I hope I can also help raise the profile of this brilliant organisation.

Outside work I am on the Global Committee for the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and the Community Committee for the Colmore Business District.  My other hobbies include reading, theatre, dancing, keeping healthy and travel.

Matthew has worked in the social housing sector for 20 years advising local authorities and registered providers in all manners of housing management related matters. Matthew’s experience includes debt recovery, possession and injunctive action in matters involving anti-social behaviour, unlawful eviction, access for inspections and repairs, mutual exchange, abandoned properties, unauthorised occupation, Association, of which he is a regional committee member. At his former firm Matthew represented tenants of social housing via legal aid and understands how vital the role that safe, secure and affordable housing plays in enhancing those residents’ lives.

Very recently retired after 40 years’ service having held the role of Assistant Director Housing Strategy and Enabling at Birmingham City Council. Guy adds to the rounded Trustee board with his strong understanding of the national and local housing landscape, including accelerating delivery of new housing to meet growing need.