Yorkshire Housing appoints Leann Hearne as Chair

Yorkshire Housing Finance plc

13 October 2026

 

Yorkshire Housing appoints Leann Hearne as new Chair

Yorkshire Housing has appointed Leann Hearne as its new Chair, succeeding Ingrid Fife after five years in the role.

Leann takes on the role at a significant time for Yorkshire Housing as it continues to focus on supporting customers, investing in existing homes and building the affordable, energy-efficient homes needed across the region.

Having served on Yorkshire Housing's Board for five years, including three years leading its Homes and Places Committee, Leann already has a strong understanding of the organisation, its customers and its ambition to be the UK's best housing provider.

She brings extensive leadership experience from across the housing sector, including previously serving as Chief Executive of Livv Housing Group, and is also a Board Member of the Northern Housing Consortium.

Nick Atkin, CEO of Yorkshire Housing, said: "I'd like to thank Ingrid for the enormous contribution she has made to Yorkshire Housing over the past five years.

"We've achieved a huge amount together during that time, from improving outcomes for customers to achieving our strongest-ever regulatory ratings, and Ingrid has been a key part of that success.

"I'm equally delighted to welcome Leann as our new Chair. She knows Yorkshire Housing incredibly well, shares our ambition for customers and communities, and will bring valuable experience and challenge as we look ahead to the future."

Speaking about her appointment, Leann added: "Yorkshire Housing holds a special place for me. After five years on the Board and three years leading the Homes and Places Committee, I've seen first-hand the difference this organisation makes to people's lives, and how its aspiration drives it to be even better.

"Becoming Chair is a real honour, and I'm genuinely excited about what we can achieve together for our customers."

Leann succeeds Ingrid Fife, whose five years as Chair saw Yorkshire Housing undergo significant change and transformation, strengthen its customer experience and governance, and secure funding to build thousands of new affordable homes.

Ingrid said: "I have been so lucky to have worked alongside an exceptionally talented team of executives and Board members at Yorkshire Housing. We have been ambitious in transforming the way we deliver our customer services and in working with local partners to continue delivering more new homes.

"I have been pleased to see our customer experience improving year on year and especially proud that, following inspection, we achieved a C1 grading this year, alongside affirmation of our strong governance and financial viability through our G1 and V2 ratings.

"Yorkshire Housing is a special place to work and its ambitious culture will continue to deliver for Yorkshire."

The appointment comes alongside further changes to Yorkshire Housing's Board, with David Manser and David Done joining as new Board members and Anees Iqbal becoming the organisation's first Board Trainee.

David Manser brings extensive experience from a career leading customer-focused retail businesses across Europe, including IKEA, and serves on the Board of Gloucester City Homes.

David Done has more than 40 years' experience in housing, including 23 years as Chief Executive of Richmond Housing Partnership, where he built a strong reputation for customer service and innovation.

Anees Iqbal has joined through the Housing Diversity Network Board Trainee Programme as Yorkshire Housing looks to support greater diversity and develop future talent at Board level.

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