HDN welcomes John on board

HDN welcomes John on board

Here at HDN we’re lucky to be represented and guided by a board which is packed full of skills and a wide range of experience. Our board’s commitment to our social values and our aim to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the housing sector and in society is embedded in everything we do.

In December we were joined by Pritti Allen, a communications specialist currently at East Midlands Housing Group, and Mike Gaskell, a legal professional and chair of the Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association.  And now we have a finance and tech representative on board, as London based John Macpherson added his talents to our pool.

We look for a diversity of experience in our team and board members and John certainly brings that to the table. Born in the capital, and with a thirst for adventure and knowledge, he joined the army. But his adventure was cut short when he suffered a serious leg injury which meant his commission was over and he was forced to look elsewhere.

So a career in the City beckoned and after building his experience in several broking jobs John landed a role at JP Morgan bank, where he stayed, until Goldman Sachs recruited him to drive forward its derivatives business and that’s where he spent the majority of his 25 year finance career.

In 2016 John joined fintech firm BMLL, where he carried out the role of chief executive for three years, before stepping down in 2019 to pursue other projects, including work in the housing sector, and now he is determined to help HDN to continue its growth in an increasingly digital world.

John was introduced to HDN by a friend and is yet to meet us face to face, but we’ve become used to that over the past 12 months! Following a virtual get-together with CEO Mushtaq and Chair Debansu Das, he agreed to climb on board and to share his fresh perspective from the corporate world. Of course, he brings expertise in finance and technology, but he has also seen evidence of a growing diversity among board members and senior managers in the banking world, and how that has enriched leadership teams.

“This is my first foray into the not-for-profit sector,” he says, “and I’m looking forward to working with the board, and Mushtaq and the team.

“There has been a shift in awareness around equality and inclusion across all sectors. Everything has moved on in the digital arena, which has affected all parts of our lives; and biases have become more obvious.

“We need to follow through on this momentum when we return to a post pandemic way of working.”

Welcome to the team John.

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