Customer Experience Committee

Customer Experience Committee

Sam Scott
Chair

Sam is Group Chief Executive at Halton Housing and has been a Board Member at Chester Aid to The Homeless (CATH) since 2008.

Sam’s strengths lie in housing where he has substantial executive experience, through his current role at Muir, across all aspects of housing management, customer service, investment and development.

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Gillian Singh

With over 30 years’ experience of working in complex consumer focussed businesses, Gillian has been an accomplished, result driven Group Marketing Director with a strong strategic focus.

She has substantial digital transformation, customer experience, business development and commercial experience centred on improving the customer proposition and driving top line sustainable growth. Experienced in a diverse range of industry types in the UK, Europe and North America, sectors have included financial services, public transport, home shopping, retail, marketing solutions and credit within complex FTSE 250, CAC40 and market leading organisations.

Companies have included the Studio Retail group, Arriva, part of Deutsche Bahn, The Go- Ahead group, Experian, Pets at Home and the N Brown group. Within Riverside, Gillian has been appointed to the Customer Experience Committee.

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Olwen Lintott

Olwen joined the Customer Experience Committee as a Co-optee in September 2021, and has also been appointed as a Group Board Customer Member since 1 January 2022.

Olwen’s early working life included working in the retail sector, at both Tesco and then Marks & Spencer. Olwen went to university and qualified as an Early Years teacher when she was in her forties. From there Olwen has spent a number of years in teaching and became Head of Early Years. Olwen was always interested in Special educational needs and was SENCO for the school she worked at. Later, Olwen joined the county advisory team as an Early Years Coordinator/ Area SENCO. This role enabled Olwen to travel around (mostly) West Cumbria, visiting Nurseries and schools, offering advice in best practice and supporting settings and families with additional needs provision.

Olwen is a leaseholder in a general needs building and has been for over 16 years. During that time Olwen has always taken an interest in her home and surrounding area.

Olwen was a former Tenant Board member of Impact Housing Association Ltd and Impact Committee until full integration in October 2021 and was involved in a variety of Impact residents’ groups and has joined the Riverside Voice online group.

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Jim Strang

Jim was appointed to the Riverside Scotland Board in March 2021 and was elected as Chair in September 2021. Jim is also a Member of Riverside’s Customer Experience Committee

Jim has more than 40 years' experience in the housing sector. He began his career working for local authorities across the west of Scotland before serving as Group Chief Executive of Parkhead Housing Association for 13 years.

Jim is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and served as Chairman of the Scotland Branch, Vice-President and then President of the CIH.

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Tracy Thomas

Appointed January 2024

Having worked in Local Government for over 18 years, Tracy brings a wealth of knowledge, balance and experience in Customer Service, Restructure Processes, Service Improvement and Change Management to the Board. Her determination, commitment and passion to Local Government Service Delivery and Community has enabled her to gain a lived experience and insight of frontline Customer Service and Project Management.

Tracy is a leader and manager of a team of eight in Local Government. Under her direction they provide exceptional customer service to the most vulnerable in Society. Tracy continues to develop her knowledge and skills, both through continuous professional development at the Institute of Leadership and Management as well as guide and support key decision makers in her line of work.

Tracy is One Housing’s Resident Board member - as a longstanding resident, she understands the impact One Housing’s decisions have on their residents and their families. She is also a member of the G15 Resident Group.

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Paula Simpson

Appointed January 2024

Paula hase been a general needs tenant for almost 20 years with Riverside and has been a member of Riverside Customer Voice Executive for 4 years.

Her role within RCVE is Media Officer and she runs RCVE social media platforms for 6 reginal groups of riverside customers. This role has given Paula firsthand experience and knowledge of the real-life issues that affect all types of Riverside customers, and this has motivated her to do all she can to develop an improved relationship between Riverside and all its customers.

Paula sits on several customer panels both local and national and has a personal interest in equality, diversity and inclusion. Paula is happy to ask hard-hitting questions and is always encouraging Riverside to be transparent, fair, respectful and accountable if things go wrong.

Paula’s career has always been focused on people, as a licensee and then within a customer support role. For the past 8 years, she has worked for the local authority fostering services and recently been invited to sit on the newly formed Corporate Parenting Board for the local authority’s children’s services.

The satisfaction she gets from helping others be the best they can be, is what keeps her going.

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