New Non-Executive Directors and Independent Committee Members join Coastline Housing.
Cornwall’s charitable social landlord Coastline Housing has appointed Gill Pipkin and Michelle Tucker to its Board.
Michelle Tucker worked for a global IT services organisation in programme and portfolio management, culminating in accountability for all Business as Usual and programme delivery to largely public sector customers such as The Home Office and Bristol City Council. Her roles included implementing best practice, risk management, governance and quality assurance, and providing support to customers to ensure successful outcomes. Michelle is passionate about supporting Cornish communities, currently volunteers for Newquay Foodbank and has been an independent member of our Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee since 2023.
Gill Pipkin has been a senior leader in private, public and voluntary sector organisations in Cornwall. As CEO at Citizens Advice Cornwall, she was acutely aware of the need for good quality, affordable housing as well as the wider impacts from a lack of housing availability. Gill feels strongly that provision of good quality housing helps address many of the challenges people face in their lives and is keen to help Coastline perform as well as possible. She currently coaches and mentors leaders and managers to realise their full potential.
Coastline has also appointed two Independent Committee Members, Keith Surgenor and Darren Willcocks.
Darren Willcocks joins the Property & Investment Committee. As a Cornishman he has been lucky to benefit from a great local education and enjoy his whole career in Cornwall as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. Darren served as a Partner/Director of the largest surveying firm in Cornwall, with over 30 years professional experience across the private and public sector for a range of local and national clients. More recently, Darren has taken on community centred roles as a Parish Councillor, with Falmouth and Penryn Community Area Partnership and as a school governor. He feels it is now time to give back something to the community he has benefitted so much from.
Keith Surgenor joins the People Committee. He practised as a solicitor specialising in planning and public law, before moving into recruitment and human resources. Most of his career was spent in the professional services sector in the City and New Zealand, before moving to Cornwall in 2018 and joining Seasalt Cornwall where he is the Director of HR Operations. Keith is a CIPD Fellow and is a Councillor for Chacewater and Twelveheads Parish Council.
Also joining Coastline is Yvie Stephens MBE as part of a Development Programme Coastline has created to help give people experience of Non-Executive Director roles. A former Army Officer, Yvie works in technology in financial services. She was born and raised in Cornwall and is passionate about regional growth. Yvie specialises in programme delivery, risk management and systems transformation, holding a BA in Geography from the University of Liverpool, an MSc in African Studies from Oxford University, and an MA in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College London.
