Board members
Contents
Chair and Vice Chair of the Board
- Chair of the Board - Cllr Richard Porthouse
- Vice Chair of the Board - Richard Lakey
Independent board members
Richard Lakey
Audit and Risk Committee (Chair)
Tenant board members
Craig Mountford
Audit and Risk Committee
- Craig started his career working in customer service and call-centre jobs for companies like BT and The AA before progressing into training and leadership roles involved in setting up and managing customer service teams for organisations as diverse as a chain of gyms and a national broadcaster.
- Born and raised in South Shields, his work took him away from the region, spending time in Manchester and eventually settling in London.
- Craig has always been keenly interested in computing and being made redundant in the late '00s spurred him on to turn a hobby into a career; he has spent the last 14 years working as a freelance software and web developer for various companies ranging from windscreen glass repairers to healthcare providers.
- Further life changes found Craig relocating back to South Tyneside nearer to family and since 2019 has been a tenant of South Tyneside Homes.
- Craig enjoys gaming and learning sleight-of-hand card magic.
Sean McDonagh
Operations Committee (Vice Chair)
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- Previously a Co-optee on our Housing and Corporate Services Committee, Sean was successful in his application to become a Board member in 2020. Sean's interest in local housing issues originated when the Decent Homes initiative was implemented in 2006 and has continued to grow since then.
- Sean has experience in residents' groups within the borough, time on the "Making Jarrow Dementia Friendly" group and his work as a Local Authority Governor for two local Primary Schools, Sean has a wide knowledge of the needs of the residents of the borough.
- Sean previously worked in local shipping and logistics and then went on to develop his knowledge by gaining a Higher Education certificate in Computing and Mathematics
Council nominated members
Cllr Richard Porthouse
Governance and People Committee
- Richard's passion for housing came following his appointment as Vice Chair to the board of South Tyneside Housing Ventures Trust.
- He brings a wealth of experience to his role as a board member from his work as a production manager, a project manager and an area manager. Richard has worked at home and abord in heavy industry including fabrication, shipbuilding and nuclear power stations. He was awarded a commendation for his role during an incident on an offshore oil platform.
- Richard wants to make sure quality services are delivered to residents with health and safety as a driver.
- Richard is a council nominated board member and has been a Councillor since 2010.
- Richard is on the Governance and People Committee.