Aileen Evans

Aileen has had a career spanning over 30 years in housing and in her role as Group Chief Executive oversees everything at Grand Union Housing Group. She believes passionately that building properly affordable social rented homes is fundamental to solving the housing crisis.

Aileen was voted President of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) in November 2019 and completed her tenure in June 2021. As part of her presidency, she started a campaign to shine a light on mental health in housing and through various fundraising activities raised over £42,000, with the total still rising.

She writes an occasional column for Inside Housing and other housing publications, is regularly called upon to present at various industry events and her views are often sought in response to government consultation and policy.

Prior to joining Grand Union, Aileen was Housing Services Director at South Yorkshire Housing Association and before that worked for Leicester Housing Association, North East Derbyshire District Council and Nottingham City Council.

She, has a coaching mastery, is a neuro linguistic programming master practitioner, has a strong interest in understanding healthy organisational cultures and the impact on performance, is a member of the Association of Coaching, holds an MBA, is a member of the CIH, and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.