Board & Executive Team

After a long career in housing of almost 35 years in Glasgow and the Western Isles I retired in July 2016.  My housing experience includes 12 years as Director of Housing at Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) responsible for housing strategy both for the public and private sectors, housing management, investment, new build, homelessness and Housing Benefit administration.

From 2005 until 2016 I was Chief Executive of the Hebridean Housing Partnership, a whole stock transfer from the local authority providing good quality housing for affordable rent and shared equity home ownership.

It has been my privilege to have worked in what is a vitally important service; the provision of good quality affordable housing for people in housing need.  I am therefore delighted to have joined the Board of Cairn and commit myself to use my housing experience to contribute to the important work of my Board member colleagues and Association staff in delivering Cairn’s vision of great homes, great service and great people.

Since a part time job at an Estate Agents and Chartered Surveyors office and more recently becoming a homeowner, a tenant and a landlord, I’ve always been interested in property and housing.

I have a Business Studies degree where I specialised in management accounting. My career has spanned a number of project management, governance and operational roles within the defence industry, public sector and financial services. Several of these roles have involved delivering  business transformation programmes and like Cairn, all of the organisations have customer service and people at the heart of their values.

I am delighted to be joining the Cairn Board at what I think will be a really interesting and exciting time for the organisation and hope that my skills and experience will complement those of the Senior Management Team and my Board colleagues.

I have been directly involved in housing stock transfers with both disposing and receiving landlords, and have worked closely with tenants to ensure their interests were represented and taken into account.

I have enjoyed a successful and dynamic career to date working with a broad remit and a variety of challenging roles. I am delighted to have been able to join the team at Cairn as a Board member. Good quality affordable housing and excellent services are fundamentally important to ensure thriving and sustainable communities. I very much look forward to working with my Board colleagues and the staff team to put its core values into practice and maintain its role as a leading, dynamic and successful housing association in Scotland.

With over 10 years of experience across the FE Education, Policing and Local Government sectors building partnerships, strengthening processes and promoting technology to improve the services offered to service users. I am educated in Admin & IT, Web Development, and currently studying towards my BA (Hons) Software Development.
As part of my role with the Cairn Board, I am looking forward to providing my skills and experience in providing strategic direction in overcoming some of the UK’s current social and economic challenges. While serving on the board, I am dedicated to realising Cairn’s vision of providing excellent housing and services for its tenants.

I am a Project Manager in a construction consultancy organisation working with clients on projects in a diverse range of industry sectors throughout the UK.

Alongside my experience managing construction projects in residential, healthcare, leisure and commercial sectors, I am also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and have also completed an MSc in Construction Management at Heriot-Watt University.

I have good knowledge, understanding and hands on experience of residential development, including an understanding of design guides, public procurement guidance, construction contracts. Having been introduced to the affordable housing sector through previous employment with a residential developer, I have an interest in Scottish Government housing policy and the Regulatory environment in which housing associations operate, and the increasingly important role which Housing Associations will fulfil.

Working alongside public sector organisations in developing their projects and have therefore developed a good understanding of the governance, gateway process, reporting requirements and the importance of proactive engagement with a broad range of stakeholders including customers, staff, lenders, local authorities, Scottish Government and suppliers.

Applying my skills and experience working with both public and private sector organisations in the property and construction industry will enable me to make a positive and valuable contribution to Cairn Housing Association and I look forward to working with my colleagues at Cairn to continue to deliver great homes and great services.

I have worked in the UK Real Estate industry for over 25 years. After gaining experience in London private practice I joined Standard Life Investments (now Aberdeen Standard Investments) in January 2000 managing a significant real estate portfolio. In 2006 I was appointed Fund Manager of their UK Property Fund which I managed for 10 years. From 2016 I have been focused on increasing our investment into the residential sector, principally through developing new rental accommodation across the UK.

The UK housing sector currently faces significant structural challenges with many people struggling to find good quality, well managed and affordable accommodation that suits their needs.  I am delighted to have joined the Board to help continue to address these challenges, and the impact they have on people and their communities. I commit my commercial investment experience to helping Cairn to continue to provide quality affordable homes and services, with the help of our communities, partners and staff, throughout Scotland.

After a short spell in the private sector, I spent 18 years in Local Authority working in a range of areas with economic development being my focus latterly. I progressed to European Funding for five years, managing large scale infrastructure projects and financial engineering before changing direction again to the voluntary sector. I have worked for a number of third sector organisations in Business Development roles before taking up my current post.

As Chief Executive of the Coach House Trust I am responsible for the strategic direction of a charity that works to support a client group with mental health issues, learning disabilities, addictions, homelessness and offending backgrounds. The Coach House engages with these individuals through art, crafts and horticultural activities with a view to improving their employability.

To complement this work we are developing a number of social enterprises. A large part of our external activities recently has been with local housing associations and that has provided me with a broader view than simply the ‘bricks and mortar’ responsibilities that housing associations have. My main interest lies with the part that Cairn plays in the lives and the communities in which it operates.

Having worked in a variety of sectors over my career, I have significant experience of the challenges faced by Registered Social Landlords, spending 14 years in finance roles within Housing Associations.

I am a qualified Chartered Accountant and Director of Finance and Business Services with Scottish Autism.  Although my career has focussed on all areas of finance, in more recent years, this has extended to leading on IT Strategy, forming part of a project team delivering a successful Transfer of Engagement and the development of commercial subsidiaries.

The knowledge I have gained over the years will allow me to support Cairn with the challenges and opportunities that are faced both now and in the future.  In doing so, this will help enable Cairn to continue to provide quality homes and services to its tenants.

I grew up in the Highlands, where my family is still based, but I now live in Edinburgh. For some 20 years I worked as a solicitor dealing with large landed estates and third sector organisations, most with substantial housing portfolios. I recently graduated from Edinburgh University again and I now work as an Assistant Minister within the Church of Scotland.

As well as Cairn, I sit on the board of Castle Community Bank, a nationwide credit union based in Leith, which seeks to help the financially disadvantaged, and a couple of other local Edinburgh charities. I am looking forward to bringing my legal, credit union and charities experience with me to Cairn’s board and hope to serve our tenants and stakeholders well during my tenure.

After a 35-year career in public transport where I worked in national and international companies at senior management and board level I am looking forward to bringing some of those skills and my experience to the team at Cairn Housing Association. Whilst having trained in operations management and marketing, the general management positions I held broadened my knowledge and experience to include finance, contract management, asset management and human resources.

I have always focused on service delivery and adding value to the customer’s experience. Through clear leadership and through the development of good systems, good staff training and the correct values, an organisation will have an edge in giving customer satisfaction. I am looking forward to helping Cairn achieve its vision of creating Great Homes, Great Services and Great People.

Audrey brings over 30 years of experience and unwavering dedication to social justice to her role as CEO. Her passion for tackling poverty and inequality through social housing remains as strong today as it was at the beginning of her career.

A champion for progressive change, Audrey thrives on challenging the status quo and fostering a culture of collaboration. She is a firm believer in empowering tenants and customers, ensuring their voices are heard and influence decision-making across the entire organization.

Audrey’s leadership has demonstrably made a positive impact. During her five years as CEO of Ardenglen Housing Association, she led a significant cultural and structural transformation that earned them the prestigious title of “Housing Association of the Year” in 2020 at the Scottish Home Awards. Prior to Ardenglen, Audrey held various senior positions at Queens Cross Housing Association and initiated and led a new framework with a focus on communities during her time as Director of Scotland with Home Group, overseeing services to 5,000 customers across six local authorities.

Audrey’s extensive experience, unwavering commitment, and dedication to resident empowerment make her a valuable asset in leading our company forward.

Ken is responsible for the Finance and People services Cairn Housing Group. A Chartered Accountant, Ken began his career as an auditor which included assignments at many Scottish RSLs covering external audit, internal audit and due diligence exercises. He then moved to the other side of the fence as a Finance Director and has worked in such roles since, mainly in the RSL sector sandwiched by an 8-year spell at The Law Society of Scotland. Ken is also a Board member of the RSL Atrium Homes, chairing its subsidiary company Atrium Initiatives Ltd, as well as being a member of the Finance Committee of the medical charity GALVMED and Chair of the SHAPS Employer Committee.

Meg is responsible for Property Services for the Cairn Housing Group, where she coordinates all aspects of investment in the Group’s new and existing housing stock, with an emphasis on planned maintenance and responsive repairs.  Before taking on the Director role, she led for 18 months on Cairn’s strategic asset management projects, including the evaluation of asset performance and modernisation of Cairn’s sheltered housing.  Meg has worked in the housing sector for the past 15 years, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and holds a BSc in Architecture, an MSc in City Design and Social Science, and a PG Diploma in Housing.  Prior to joining Cairn in 2018, she worked as a consultant advising a range of housing associations, local authorities and community organisations in Scotland and England on asset management, community engagement and regeneration projects.

Morag joined Cairn in September 2019.  She started her career as a Housing Management Officer in West Lothian Council before moving to Fife Council in 2003.  She has led teams in many areas of housing including Performance and Improvement, Tenant Participation and Communications and Marketing.  Following the successful Housing Inspection of Fife in 2010 and after gaining an MSc in Business and Quality Management she moved into Corporate Planning, working with the DLO functions of the Local Authority to drive performance improvements and efficiency savings.  Morag has a strong belief that the customer should be at the heart of any service improvement and most recently helped to establish the Local Outcome Improvement Plan for Fife which has the Community Led Service ethos at its heart.

Chris is the Director of Customer Services and joined Cairn in June 2024. His role involves leading on tenancy, income and older peoples housing services, all essential activities for the delivery of a great customer experience. Chris has worked in senior roles in social housing for over 25 years covering a broad range of strategic and operational activities in housing, care, telecare information technology, communications, and repairs. Chris worked as Director of Customer Service at Hanover (Scotland) one of Scotland’s largest specialist housing associations for ten years before joining Cairn. Chris’s career and qualifications, he obtained an MBA in 2013, has provided him with a rich understanding of the sector. He is committed to improving the lives of customers through the services Cairn provides and is dedicated to contributing to the success and growth of the housing sector in Scotland.