Upwards for new Onward CEO Livingstone

Sandy Livingstone has been appointed as successor to outgoing chief executive Brownen Rapley.

After eight years with housing association Onward Homes, Livingstone has been promoted to the top job, which he will start in earnest on 1 February.

He joined Onward as executive director of property from Savills in 2017. Earlier this year Livingstone was promoted to executive director of growth with the remit of delivering the organisation’s plans to build 5,000 new homes by 2030.

Current chief executive Rapley will retire next spring after a decade with the business, handing over the reins to Livingstone.

She oversaw the creation of Onward Homes in 2018 as the result of the merging of six housing associations. These were Symphony Housing Group, Contour Homes, Liverpool Housing Trust, Hyndburn Homes, Peak Valley Housing Association, and Ribble Valley Homes.

“I am privileged to step into the role of chief executive at Onward, building on the strong foundations that Bronwen has put in place over the last decade,” Livingstone said.

“Looking to the future, I have a clear vision and passion to make a difference in our communities by driving improvements in our services on behalf of our customers, investing in existing homes, and building more quality affordable housing.

“I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues, partners and customers to enable us to deliver meaningful change and the vision set out in our corporate plan, The Onward Difference.”

Tim Johnston, chair of Onward, added: “On behalf of the board, I am delighted to announce Sandy’s appointment as our new chief executive.

“Sandy has a wealth of experience and has been instrumental in shaping the organisation that we are today. He is passionate about our customers and I know that under Sandy’s leadership we will continue to make a positive difference in the communities that we serve.”