Coastline is governed by a Board of Non-Executive Directors and the CEO who are appointed to our Group Committees.
Additional expert knowledge and experience is provided by additional Independent Committee Members.
Customer representation is actively reflected throughout our governance structure including within the Customer Experience Committee of the Board.
Francesca Rhodes
Group Chair
Joined the Board: 01/06/2024
Background: Francesca has dedicated the last 18 years of her career to the social housing sector, specialising in financial strategy. She has extensive consultancy, senior executive and board level experience with numerous social housing providers and commercial organisations. Francesca will be taking up her position as Chair in September, following the retirement of Steve Harrison.
Andrew Moore
Group Vice Chair
Joined the Board: 01/09/20
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of Customer Experience Committee.
Background: Andy has worked for more than 40 years for housing associations and housing charities, including 20 years as Chief Executive of a Cornish housing association. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing, Andy has previously served as a Chair of a parish council, local funding partnerships and charities.
Karen Harris
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/09/20
Other positions held within Coastline Group: Chair of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee; member of People Committee.
Background: Karen was born and brought up in Cornwall and has worked in senior board positions for over 20 years in both Finance and Operations within international financial services. On her return to Cornwall she has taken on roles within a number of local charities.
David Barlow
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/01/22
Other positions held within Coastline Group: Chair of Property & Investment Committee, member of Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.
Background: David is a chartered accountant having trained and qualified with KPMG. He joined Penwith Housing Association prior to the transfer from the local authority in 1994 and was promoted to the position of PHA Director of Finance in 1997. His final career position as LiveWest Director of Business Finance was created as part of the amalgamation of the DCH group with Knightstone Housing Group in April 2018 and the formation of a group finance department.
Kelly Kemp
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/01/22
Other positions held within Coastline Group: Chair of Customer Experience Committee and Board Member Responsible for Complaints; member of People Committee.
Background: Kelly has been a customer of Coastline Housing for over 11 years and recently joined the Board having previously been appointed to the Customer Experience Committee since its introduction in January 2020. Kelly has a BSc (hons) in Social Science and subsequently studied paradigms and theories surrounding the sense of community. She has academic knowledge and understanding of overarching theories and the implementation of policies and procedures that can affect social housing. More recently Kelly has completed a teaching qualification.
Charles Pears
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/03/21
Other positions held within the Coastline Group: Chair of People Committee; member of Property & Investment Committee.
Background: Charles is from a rural background though spent much of his career in the city in senior leadership roles in banking, insurance and investments. He has been a Non-Executive Director of Cornish Mutual Assurance.
Paul Doddrell
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/04/22
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee; member of Property & Investment Committee.
Background: Paul has 30 years of financial services experience in a range of businesses and operates his own consultancy business based here in Cornwall working with several clients across Europe. One of his clients is iCare Housing a not-for-profit approved housing body focused on providing social housing solutions to customers who are facing repossession from their lender. Paul holds two other non-executive director positions: Firstly, at Permanent TSB plc, an Irish retail bank where he is also a member of the Audit and Risk committees. Secondly at Cabot Finance Ireland a loan purchaser and servicer where he is Chair of the Audit and Risk committee.
Michelle Tucker
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/01/24
Other positions held within the Coastline Group: member of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee; member of People Committee.
Background: Michelle 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
Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 01/01/24
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of Customer Experience Committee; member of Audit & Risk Committee.
Background: Gill 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.
Keith Surgenor
Co-opted Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 26/09/24
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of People Committee.
Background: Keith 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.
Darren Willcocks
Co-opted Non-Executive Director
Joined the Board: 26/09/24
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of Property & Investment Committee.
Background: As a Cornishman, Darren has been lucky to benefit from a great local education and enjoy his whole career in Cornwall as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. He 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.
Allister Young
Chief Executive
Other positions held within Coastline Group: member of Property & Investment Committee.
Background: Allister originally joined Coastline as Director of Finance in 2012, before becoming CEO in 2014. After studying Physics at the University of Edinburgh he qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London.
His previous roles include Assistant Director of Finance at the Peabody Trust, and Director of Finance & Resources at Tree Aid. He was a board member of PlaceShapers from 2017 to 2023, is a member of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Strategic Housing Group, and vice-chair of the National Housing Federation’s South West region.
Yvie Stephens MBE
Independent Committee Member
Joined the Audit & Risk Committee: 26/09/24
Background: 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.
Lionah Kawonza
Joined the Development Programme: 03/06/24
Other positions held within Coastline Group: attendee at the Customer Experience Committee and People Committee
Background: After studying at The University of the West of England, Lionah became a Chartered Surveyor and has recently completed her MBA with Warwick Business School.
For the past decade, Lionah has worked in Devon and Cornwall undertaking residential and commercial property valuation work as well as project managing residential development for both public and private clients.
