PA Housing welcomes new Chair

PA Housing has appointed Suki Kalirai, who brings over 20 years of experience in non-executive director roles in a variety of sectors, as its new Chair.

The housing association, which operates across the Midlands, London, and the South East, managing around 24,000 homes, has confirmed Suki’s appointment from 1 October – taking over from Interim Chair Anne Turner.

In addition to working in senior positions at Coca-Cola, Forte & Le Meridien Hotels, and Unilever, Suki was also an advisor to the United Nations Secretary General for Sustainable Development (Earth Summit), liaising with sovereign state leaders on environmental and climate change policy.

Suki has been a member of Housing 21’s board since 2020 and is the lead for sustainability and transformation, as well as Chair of its retirement living committee.

Prior to this, Suki was also the Inaugural Chair of the UK Government’s Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Employer Panel, as well as a member of the All-Party Parliament Group Apprenticeship Sector Development Board.

As Chair, Suki will draw on his cross-sector public and private sector experience to ensure the organisation delivers housing services that are centred around its residents.

On being appointed Chair of PA Housing, Suki commented:

“With the current economic climate, in conjunction with the energy and cost-of-living crisis, there is an increasing divide in our society – making the work that housing associations like PA Housing do, even more pivotal in the communities we serve. I’m looking forward to working alongside Dilip and the team at PA Housing to address the challenges we face, whilst delivering on the organisation’s customer service and development ambitions and would like to thank Anne for her leadership over the past year.”

Dilip Kavi, Chief Executive at PA Housing, added:

“Suki’s impressive experience, combined with his commitment to making a positive long-term impact on people’s lives, will provide invaluable insight to our organisation. I look forward to working with him and our wider team to deliver the good quality housing and services that our customers look to us to provide.”