Our Board Members
David Done OBE - Chair of Board
David Done OBE became the Chair of the Gateway Board in May 2023 and has been working in the housing industry for 38 years. His career began with homeless charities in London and Bristol. Later, he held senior-level positions in five local authorities. David also served as the Group CEO of RHP, a renowned housing association located in West London, and has received numerous awards for his contribution to the industry.
Bala Mahendran - Vice Chair and Chair of GAP
Bala Mahendran was appointed as Vice Chair of the Gateway Board and Chair of GAP in October 2020. He has been working in Local Government since 1986 and has held various positions, including Chief Executive of Basildon Borough Council and Chair of the Essex Chief Executive Association and the Basildon Community Safety Partnership. Additionally, he served as the Deputy Chair of Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT). Bala is passionate about housing, regeneration, and achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
Kate Franklin - Chief Executive Officer, GLL/VPHD and Board Member
Kate Franklin joined Gateway in August 2021.
Kate is a highly experienced transformation director, senior marketer and recognised expert in building customer-centred businesses. She has a combination of housing and retail experience which has drawn on her commitment to customer experience and insight.
Kate first entered the housing sector in 2008 and has over 12 years experience at an executive leadership level with CHP, Hyde, One Housing Group and North Herts Homes (now settle) and was a NED at MHS until recently.
Frances Austin - Leasehold Board Member and RAC committee
Frances Austin joined Gateway’s Board in December 2019. Frances has been an active member of the Repairs and Maintenance Leaseholder panel and has over 20 years of experience in delivering community nutrition intervention programmes. She is a recipient of the Tower Hamlets STAR Award for Community Resident Engagement.
Nigel Wiles - Chair of Subsidiaries, Board and GAP Member
Nigel Wiles joined Gateway’s Board in October 2020. Nigel is a Chartered Building Surveyor and has worked in the housing sector since 1984. Most recently, he was Director of Asset Management and Maintenance Strategy at L&Q Housing Trust. He specialises in asset management and building safety and is passionate about delivering great maintenance services for residents.
Andrew Bond - RAC and Board Member
Andrew Bond joined Gateway’s Board in August 2021. Andrew has held NED roles at various social housing organisations, including most recently Tower Hamlets Homes and Toynbee Housing Association. He is an FCA member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and has been involved in working parties on issues including leasehold service charge accounting. He is a partner in Evelyn Partners and the Chairman of the registered auditor CLA Evelyn Partners Limited.
Mark Hannam - Chair of RAC and Board Member
Mark Hannam joined Gateway’s Board in August 2021. He previously worked as an Investment Manager at the Bank of England, Citibank, and Barclays. He is an Honorary Professor at the Yunus Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University and has held several non-executive posts, including Chair of the Board at Fair Finance and Deputy Chair of the Board at the University of East London.
Amarjit Bains - GAP, MRC and Board Member. EDI Champion
Amarjit Bains joined Gateway’s Board in August 2021. She has over a decade of leadership experience across multiple sectors, specialising in strategy, operations and transformation. Currently Programme Director at Bridges Outcomes Partnerships, a not-for-profit social enterprise. She leads on partnerships between the government, public, private and voluntary sectors to help address social challenges. She also serves as Gateway’s Member Responsible for complaints.
Dr Kion Ahadi — Board and RAC Member
Kion is a digital, data and transformation leader with over 20 years’ experience delivering major change across regulated and socially focused sectors. He has held senior roles at the Law Society, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and LegaMart, leading digital modernisation, data governance, AI and cyber-resilience programmes.
He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London, and professional accreditations in cyber security, data leadership and programme management. He brings Board-level experience and a strong focus on using technology and insight to enhance resident experience, resilience and sustainable growth.
Adunni Adams – Board, RAC and GLL/VPHD member.
Adunni has served the affordable housing sector for over 20 years, within Local Authority owned Development Companies, Registered Providers and Local Authorities. Currently, Adunni is responsible for delivery and sales of new homes at Watford Community Housing. WCH is a Community Gateway Organisation, developing in their own right and through Joint Ventures with our Local Authority partners
Dr Pen Woods — Leaseholder, Board and GAP Member
Dr Pen Woods is a historian and researcher specialising in cultural and political histories of the 17th century. She is one of the directors of Poetry Versus Colonialism, a not for profit organisation working with schools and heritage organisations on creative responses to colonial histories. She has recently completed a project with UCL and the University of Oxford examining the role of the heritage sector in the teaching of Empire in secondary schools in England. She is passionately engaged with social housing issues in the UK.
Eugenia Korobova — Independent RAC Member
Eugenia Korobova was appointed an independent co-optee to Gateway’s Risk and Audit Committee in October 2021. Eugenia works at Pension Insurance Cooperation PLC (PIC) where she focuses on sourcing high-quality investments in the social housing sector where PIC has invested over £2 billion. She previously worked as a Credit Analyst at PIC and Rothesay covering the social housing sector and at Standard & Poors (S&P) Global Ratings covering both investment-grade and high-yield corporate issuers. Eugenia holds an MSc in Economics and Business from the Stockholm School of Economics.