Who we are

Executive Team

Our Executive Team guide Saffron and make sure we stay true to our commitment of enabling people to live independently in warm and affordable homes. They inspire our people to be the best they can possibly be.

Chief Officers

James Francis

Chief Executive Officer

James was appointed CEO in 2019 and has the overall responsible for ensuring Saffron provides the best possible home and service.

Since this time, Saffron has gained the highest possible regulatory grades for governance and consumer standards and become a trusted partner within the sector.

James represents Saffron externally, including as Chair of the Norfolk & Suffolk Housing Partnership and as a Board Member of Placeshapers.

James grew up in South Norfolk and began working life in a fruit packing factory, before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2004 and held Finance Director roles at g15 housing organisations for the 9 years before joining Saffron.
Iain Innes

Chief Commercial Officer

Iain joined Saffron in 2018. He is responsible for Saffron’s Finance function as well as the Affordable and Market Sale Development programme.

Iain qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2004 with Deloitte's London office, before gaining international experience in Toronto. He has worked at Director level in PLCs, private companies and private equity backed businesses across a variety of sectors.
Julia Prichard

Chief Operating Officer

Julia joined Saffron in January 2024 as Chief Tenant Officer and now leads Saffron’s end to end operational services as Chief Operating Officer.

Her role brings together everything that matters most to tenants and customers, from the safety and quality of our homes, to how easy it is to contact us, how we respond when things go wrong and how we learn and improve over time.

Julia leads Saffron’s tenant and customer services, asset management, direct labour organisation, contact centre, tenant insight and engagement and consumer regulation. She also oversees transformation and improvement activity, ensuring that change and technology are always focused on improving the experience for tenants.

At the heart of Julia’s role is a strong commitment to consumer standards and tenant led decision making. She ensures that services are shaped by customer insight, complaints learning and feedback, and that Saffron is transparent, accountable and responsive in how it delivers services and manages neighbourhoods.

Julia is an experienced and passionate housing executive with a successful track record of leading both strategic and operational functions across the social housing sector. She brings over 25 years of housing experience, having started her career on the frontline and progressed into senior leadership roles with responsibility for large-scale operations, service transformation and customer experience.

Julia believes that great housing services are built on trust, empathy and clear accountability. She is passionate about creating safe, well maintained homes, strong neighbourhoods and services that tenants feel confident using and influencing, now and as Saffron continues to grow and evolve.
Malcolm O'Brien

Chief People & Partnership Officer

Malcolm joined in December 2023 and has responsibility for Governance, Health & Safety, People, Workplace and Communications.

Malcolm is a seasoned executive with more 20 years’ experience in the sector at Executive and Board level. Malcolm has a real passion for creating an organisational culture where people can feel they belong and have the tools and support to deliver great things.
Alison Dennis

Head of CEO Office

Alison’s role includes providing critical support to the CEO, managing stakeholder relationships including first point of contact for MPs, proactively manages CEO communications, complex calendars, coordinates meetings including Chairing the Executive Meetings, travel arrangements, and expenses.

With 8 years of extensive expertise in C-Suite support roles, she continues to deliver high level support, providing enhanced strategic and operational support to the CEO and wider Executive Team. Being agile and adaptable, Alison contributes to the smooth running of the CEO office.

Leading with focus and commitment to delivering excellent customer service and meaningful stakeholder relationships.

Board Members

Saffron’s Board is made up of 11 Board Members, including the CEO. The Board Chair and Members bring with them a diverse range of knowledge and skills to the Board.

Kim Newman

Chair

Kim Newman joined the Saffron Housing Board as Chair in April 2023. She is also a Member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee and is Chair of Saffron Housing Finance Plc.

Kim is the founder and Managing Director of PML, a specialist Business Improvement and Property Services Consultancy working mainly within the Social Housing, public sector, and commercial property sector, bringing over 30 years of experience.

Prior to setting up PML, Kim spent a number of years at national consultancy practices including Capita and Turner & Townsend in various leadership roles and was seconded to a variety of public sector clients to develop and implement their business strategies.

Over the last 30 years Kim has developed and led strategy implementation in relation to procurement, commercial management, business change, business improvement, transformation, collaboration and partnership development. Kim holds an honours degree from South Bank University, a post graduate diploma in Procurement and is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, Chartered Management Institute, Association for Project Management, Chartered Institute of Housing and is a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management and Institute of Asset Management.

Kim is an experienced non-executive director having previously been Chair of Orwell Housing Association, she is currently also a Director of two residential management companies for the Fellowes Plain Development in Norwich.

Kim is passionate about the social housing sector having grown up in Social Housing and provides a unique perspective and deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the sector.
James Francis

Board Member

James was appointed CEO in 2019 and has the overall responsible for ensuring Saffron provides the best possible home and service.

Since this time, Saffron has gained the highest possible regulatory grades for governance and consumer standards and become a trusted partner within the sector.

James represents Saffron externally, including as Chair of the Norfolk & Suffolk Housing Partnership and as a Board Member of Placeshapers.

James grew up in South Norfolk and began working life in a fruit packing factory, before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2004 and held Finance Director roles at g15 housing organisations for the 9 years before joining Saffron.
Jason Margetts

Board Member

Jason has held board positions across the built environment and has specialist knowledge in property development and decarbonisation. He was a Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Building 2013-16.

Until January 2022 he was Production Director at Berkeley Group plc, where he received two RoSPA Awards, and led across a number of delivery aspects including securing land acquisitions and delivering s106 agreements. He previously worked as Construction Project Director for AGR Renewables Group, a renewable energy development company.

Over the past two years Jason has been working across a number of start up businesses and high net worth individuals developing high profile and complex projects in central London.
Jayne Sharma

Board Member

Jayne joined Saffron Housing in 2022 as a Non-Executive Director, and is a member of the People, Nominations, and Remuneration Committee (PNRC) and the Risk and Audit Committee. Jayne has over 10 years' experience at operating at Board level, in a complex, regulated organisations and membership of Group Executive Meetings, Risk and Audit Boards.

As a global technology and transformation leader, Jayne has successfully delivered digital, cloud, cyber and network technologies in line with group strategies. Jayne has experience working and influencing risk, finance, and regulatory bodies, leading teams of up to 1000 people, and contracting with third parties.

Jayne is passionate about creating a working environment with diverse leadership, thinking and acceptance. She successfully led the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) work across Aviva's global technology, collaborating with partners in the Financial Services and Technology industries, increasing senior female leadership to over 40%. Jayne is Saffron's Board Advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) driving an inclusive workforce and a great place to work.
Robert Lankey

Senior Independent Director

Rob Lankey joined the Saffron Housing Trust Board in September 2018 and is the current Senior Independent Director and a member of the Audit Committee.

Rob brings over 25 years of non-executive and governance experience across housing associations, with a professional background spanning 37 years in commercial and specialist lending. He has held senior roles in finance and banking, including at Aldermore and GB Bank, shaping lending strategies and delivering sustainable growth.

Rob has served on a range of housing, audit, and treasury boards, providing strategic insight, rigorous risk management, and robust financial oversight. His contributions have supported improvements in governance ratings and long-term financial planning within the sector.

He is committed to the delivery of safe, affordable homes and to ensuring Saffron’s strategic decisions are grounded in financial sustainability, regulatory compliance, and tenant value.

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Tallia Langston

Board Member

Tallia’s key motivation for joining the Board was to help ensure people are happy and safe in their homes. She is committed to finding creative and inclusive ways to improve things, so people can live their best lives. Tallia wishes to help the Board ensure that its policies are flexible, inclusive, and always considered from a customer-centered perspective.

Tallia’s professional career began in Primary Education; she stepped down from teaching when she became disabled. She describes her return-to-work journey as “a lesson in acceptance and perseverance“.

Tallia is a Tenant Board Member, she’s been a Saffron tenant for 11 years.

Tallia is also an NHS Governor for her local NHS Mental Health Trust, a Board Member for an independent board facilitated by Norfolk County Council that supports co-production of Social Care Services, and a shareholder and volunteer for a Community Cooperative Farm and Pub.

She is a passionate advocate for putting people first and listening to what people want and need – especially people facing challenges in life, such as living with, or in recovery from, physical illnesses, mental illnesses, drug, alcohol and substance misuse disorders, learning difficulties, and she believes strongly in listening to the voices of autistic people.
Thomas Fadden

Board Member

Tom joined the Saffron Housing Board in 2018 and serves as Chair of the People, Nominations and Remuneration Committee.

Tom is a disability equality, access and inclusion consultant based in Norfolk, bringing over a decade of experience across commercial and third sectors. He provides disability access consultancy and delivers training to a wide range of organisations including universities, public transport providers, third sector organisations and social housing providers, most notably delivering disability access and inclusion workshops for the National Housing Federation.

Tom holds a degree in Business Management and an MSc in Brand Leadership from the University of East Anglia. Beyond his consultancy work, he has extensive voluntary sector experience, helping establish peer support groups for disabled people and serving as a trustee for several user-led organisations. He also volunteers with Human Library, facilitating conversations to challenge stigma and stereotypes.

As a Saffron Housing tenant, Tom brings both professional expertise and lived experience to ensure the organisation continues to provide accessible, inclusive social housing for future generations.
Robyn Llewellyn

Audit & Risk Committee Chair

Robyn joined the Saffron Housing Board in April 2025. She previously served on the Board of Orwell Housing Association, where she chaired the Audit and Risk Committee and was a member of the Governance Committee. Robyn is also currently a Board member at Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
After a 30-year career at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Robyn retired in 2025 as Area Director for England, Midlands & East. She brings extensive leadership experience, having led teams through change and worked closely with communities, partners, and stakeholders. Robyn is passionate about creating partnerships and supporting projects that make a positive social impact.
Chantelle Harrison

Tenant Board Member

Chantelle joined the Saffron Board in September 2025 and sits on the Board at Crocus Homes.

Chantelle currently runs a thriving accountancy company and residential property management business both operating primarily within South Norfolk. Chantelle holds a BA Hons degree and benefits from over a decade of experience within the private property sector with an additional 9 years experience in accounting and finance.

Joining us as a Saffron Tenant, Chantelle hopes to provide an element of both human and business perspective to the role and is keen to further understand the opportunities and challenges within the social housing sector.
Don Evans

Service Quality Committee Chair

Don joined the Saffron Board in September 2025 and is also Chair of the Service Quality Committee.

Prior to retiring in 2024 he had a long and varied career working primarily in the public and voluntary sectors. During that time, he held Senior/Executive roles in the fields of housing, education and social care. He also brings a significant amount of Board experience.

Having grown up in social housing and been a social housing tenant himself, Don has first-hand experience of the central role the sector plays for people and communities, and he is passionate about getting things right for tenants.
Martin Aust

Crocus Board Chair

Martin is Chair of the Crocus Board and an independent board member of Saffron. He is an experienced strategic leader in housing, development, and regeneration, with a proven track record of delivering large-scale housing programmes, securing strategic partnerships, and optimising land and asset value. With extensive expertise in housing strategy, corporate governance, and stakeholder engagement, he has worked closely with local authorities, government agencies, and housing associations to drive successful housing growth initiatives.

Martin is skilled in business growth, risk management, financial oversight, and ensuring strong commercial performance while maintaining a customer-focused approach. Recognised for driving innovation in housing development, he has led multi-disciplinary teams and implemented place-shaping strategies that create thriving communities. His experience spans board-level leadership, policy development, and managing housing delivery from planning through to sales.