England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people, Anchor Hanover Group, has announced the appointment of Sarah Jones as its new chief executive.
The appointment follows Jane Ashcroft’s decision to step down. Currently Anchor’s chief financial officer, having joined Anchor in 2014 as finance director, Sarah is also a trustee of Arthritis Action, a UK charity helping people with arthritis improve their quality of life, and sits on the board of CHP, an Essex-based charitable housing association.
Jane Ashcroft was awarded a CBE in 2013 for services to older people and has held various high-profile roles in the social care sector, including chair of Care England, founding director and vice chair of ARCO, and vice chair of the National Housing Federation.
Jane said: “It has been an enormous honour to lead Anchor and my decision was not an easy one.
“We’re focussed on creating more and better homes where people can love living in later life. In recent years we have invested in our existing properties, grown through merger and acquisitions, issued our first sustainability bond and built a significant pipeline for further developments.
“Anchor has always innovated to ensure services meet the changing needs of older people and I am sure that will continue to be the case.
“I am particularly proud of how colleagues across the organisation have supported residents through challenges and supported them to love living in later life. The achievements of the past few years mean I feel the time is right for me to move on. I am looking forward to building a non-executive portfolio as the next stage of my career.”
Sarah said: “I am delighted to be taking up the baton from Jane and look forward to maintaining Anchor’s focus on providing more and better homes. I am eager to ensure the organisation continues to evolve to meet the needs and expectations of the older people of today and tomorrow and I also want to build on our influence in this socially vital debate with government and other stakeholders.”
Anchor chairman Christopher Kemball commented: “Jane has been a truly outstanding leader for the organisation, particularly during the COVID pandemic. The board and I extend our deepfelt thanks to her for such an inspirational and dedicated contribution to Anchor and the residents we serve. We conducted a thorough and comprehensive search for Jane’s successor using external consultants and are delighted that Sarah will be taking over as chief executive. I am looking forward very much to working with her in her new role.”
