Our board

Suki brings over 20 years of experience in non-executive director roles in a variety of sectors including consumer goods, building (both commercial and social housing), education and e-commerce, as well as charities and industry association boards in the leisure and hospitality sectors. He is currently also Chair of Paragon Asra Housing and is NED and chair of the retirement living part of Housing 21. Suki also brings 25 years of knowledge and experience from his careers in senior executive roles at Coca-Cola, Forte & Le Meridien Hotels, and Unilever - Dove Spa. He is a past advisor to the United Nations Secretary General for Sustainable Development (Earth Summit) supporting and liaising with leaders from 100 sovereign states on environmental and climate change policy.

For the last 20 years Simon Blanchflower has been involved in leading the development and delivery of major infrastructure projects. Following the successful conclusion of his role as the Major Programme Director on the Thameslink Programme, which included the re-building of London Bridge station, he has recently been appointed as the Chief Executive of East West Rail Co Ltd. He has experience of chairing the Boards of charitable companies and for the last 30 years has invested into his local community in North Kensington with particular interests in education and housing. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE was elected the Mayor of Newham in May 2018. Since her election, she has been leading a transformative and radical agenda in Newham, reflecting a series of manifesto commitments to address inequality and poverty, invest in young people to widen opportunities, embed Community Wealth Building as the economic approach being adopted by the Council, increase participatory democracy and respond to the Climate Emergency.

As part of an ambitious programme of scaling up Council housing delivery in the borough she is leading one the most ambitious genuinely affordable housing programmes in London through a number of significant regeneration schemes. Under her leadership, Newham also became the first council in the country to make the health, happiness and wellbeing of its residents the key indicator of economic success. 

As an advocate for racial justice and equalities, Rokhsana was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the UK.

Jamie Kerr is a Chartered Surveyor with more than 30 years’ experience in property development and finance. He has particular knowledge around retail, transport related development, masterplanning and town centre reinvention and has worked for LCR and John Laing Plc as an Executive Director. He sits on the Board of the Solihull Urban Growth Company and has recently established Urban Development Partnerships to focus on the renewal of town centres.

Cllr Guy Nicholson is the London Borough of Hackney’s Deputy Mayor for delivery, inclusive economy & regeneration. 

Gabrielle Appiah is a former member of Legacy Youth Board from 2014-19 who went on to study Planning at undergraduate and Masters level. She is currently a Project Coordinator at Soundings, a community engagement consultancy which delivers inclusive programmes of engagement and capacity building with diverse communities.  Gabrielle is Co-Vice Chair of Women in Planning London, a Licentiate representative member of The Royal Town Planning Institute General Assembly, and a contributor to the New London Architecture’s Diversity Think Tank and BAME in Property.