Thrive Homes' CEO Elspeth Mackenzie announces plans to retire
31 July 2024
Elspeth Mackenzie, the Chief Executive of Thrive Homes has announced that she will be retiring from her role at the end of December this year after leading the housing association for the last fifteen years. She will remain in post until the end of the year and a recruitment process to find her successor has begun.
Elspeth joined Thrive Homes as Chief Executive in 2009, a year after it was founded, having previously been Chief Executive at Griffin Homes. As Chief Executive at Thrive Homes, Elspeth has leveraged skills and experience gained across four decades in property management, strategic planning, organisational development and the governance of housing associations.
Under Elspeth’s leadership, Thrive Homes has grounded its mission in the belief that a home is the foundation that enables individuals and families to secure a good quality, safe home that they can afford. The organisation has also grown significantly during her tenure and now provides nearly 6,000 affordable homes across some of the most expensive parts of the UK, including Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
Elspeth Mackenzie has announced her plans to retire at the end of 2024.
Alongside her stellar leadership of Thrive Homes, Elspeth has demonstrated her commitment to the wider community through voluntary roles including as Vice-Chair of Crown Housing Association, Chair of Grange Housing, and her membership on the Local Strategic Partnership Board in Three Rivers District which builds on the knowledge of trusted local voices to shape community strategy. In addition, Elspeth has also previously chaired the NHF East Region Leaders’ Group and is a member of Hertfordshire County Council Homes Right Places Working Group.
Reflecting on her time as CEO, Elspeth said ‘It has been an absolute privilege to lead Thrive Homes for the past decade and a half. As a leading housing association, we do vital work in providing homes for those the market fails to serve. I am very proud of what we have achieved in the time I have been Chief Executive, it has been a pleasure to work with such a talented group of people and I am confident that the organisation is in safe and capable hands.’
Elspeth Mackenzie’s departure will mark an end of an era for Thrive Homes, but the organisation remains committed to its core mission of providing quality, affordable housing to its communities. A recruitment process for the new chief executive officer has begun and the Board are dedicated to ensuring the important work of Thrive Homes continues as normal during this transition period.
If anyone would like a confidential discussion about the role of Chief Executive, please contact Rosie Gunn - the executive search partner at GatenbySanderson - via email at rosie.gunn@gatenbysanderson.com.