Anchor Board

Denise Peart

Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Customer Experience Committee

Denise joined the Board in March 2022. She brings over 25 years’ business experience and knowledge gained in senior leadership positions including Chief Talent and Diversity Officer at Sky and Global Talent Director at The Coca-Cola Company based in Atlanta, GA. In addition, she has worked at the helm of the HR functions for high-profile, consumer facing organisations undergoing significant change, such as Tesco, GE, BP and M&S.

Denise is skilled at creating and implementing commercial HR strategies that build organisational capability to deliver strategy, sustainable shareholder value and competitive advantage. She also has extensive experience of creating and embedding innovative people practices.

Denise holds a MA in Human Resource Management, BA(Hons) in English Literature and Philosophy, and is a fellow of the CIPD.

Damien Régent

Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Customer Experience Committee and Regulatory Compliance Oversight Committee and Investment & Development Committee

Damien is an experienced board-level leader with a finance and risk-analysis background. Since 2013, he has worked mostly as a non-executive director and sat on more than twelve boards. He has significant board experience in regulated organisations facing complex service-delivery challenges.

He has worked in multiple industries ranging from banking and capital markets to internet start-ups, domestic and international charities, healthcare and housing. His first career was as a financial analyst in the City, where he was a credit analyst specialised in financial institutions.

Damien chairs the board of trustees of PBE (formerly Pro Bono Economics, charitable think-tank). In social housing, he chairs the Audit & Risk Committee at Amplius and at Southern Housing. In healthcare, he does the same at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.

Damien has postgraduate degrees in economics and finance from Paris-Dauphine University and the University of Wales, Bangor.

Lyn Romeo, CBE

Independent Non-Executive Director and a member of the Nominations Committee and Customer Experience Committee

Lyn joined the Anchor Board in August 2024. 

Lyn is currently a Board Director for the Association of Social Workers and a trustee for Thinkahead Charity and Hestia Charity.  

She is a registered social worker with over 46 years of social work practice experience both as a front-line social worker and at various management levels in organisations delivering social work, social care, housing and health services and as a Social Services Inspector with the Social Services Inspectorate, now replaced by CQC. She was appointed as the first ever Chief Social Worker for Adults in England and has extensive senior leadership experience at operational and strategic levels across a broad range of social care services. 

Lyn has a Bachelor of Social Work degree, a Master of Business Administration Degree (Health and Social Services) and two Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa (The Manchester Metropolitan University and Middlesex University). She is a member of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the British Association of Social Workers. She was also awarded a CBE for her services to social work.

Heather Rowell

Independent Non-Executive Director and a member of the  Customer Experience Committee

Heather is the first resident Non-Executive Director at Anchor, bringing her ‘lived-in’ perspective to the board as a resident since 2025. In 2018 she became actively involved in sharing residents' views and is passionate about ensuring residents receive the best service Anchor can offer.

With over 30 years of experience in retail with both Tesco and Waitrose, Heather has specialised in forecasting and logistics, consistently identifying and bridging gaps in internal processes. In addition, she has 10 years of experience in the insurance sector, providing her with a diverse skill set to her role on the board.

As the Chair of the Residents’ Environmental Forum, Heather has worked on initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and environmental awareness among residents. She also serves as Chair of the Residents Council, where they ensure that the residents’ voices are heard, helping to bring to residents the best services Anchor can offer.

Heather is committed to ensuring that residents’ voices are heard at the board level and is dedicated to making a positive impact through collaboration and innovation.

Katy Taylor

Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Customer Experience Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee

Katy became Chief Executive Office of Wightlink in August 2024 having previously been Chief Customer Officer of Southern Water.

Before this she was Chief Strategy and Customer Officer at Go-Ahead, the FTSE 250 international passenger transport business.

She is also a Board Governor at Kingston University, and Advisory Board member at micro-giving charity Pennies.

Rachael Shimmin, OBE
Chief Executive (CEO)

Rachael joined Anchor as Chief Executive Officer in January 2026.

Her distinguished career in public service leadership spans health, social care and local government transformation.

She was appointed as the CEO of Buckinghamshire County Council in 2016 and led Local Government in the county through its formation and evolution into a billion-pound turnover organisation, merging five predecessor bodies and with more than 4,000 staff.

Rachael has served on a wide range of regional and national bodies and boards and is also a qualified Executive Coach. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Buckinghamshire New University in 2025 for her significant contribution in her professional field, which includes voluntary and community services, health, and education, both within Buckinghamshire and across the UK. In 2026 Rachael was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire by The Countess Howe, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

She was awarded the OBE for services to social care in 2014.

Susan Hickey Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Susan has over 25 years’ experience in executive roles and has spent the past six years operating as an Interim CFO and CEO. Prior to her interim career, she served as Chief Financial Officer at Peabody Trust for a decade. 

A qualified chartered accountant (CAANZ fellow, ICAEW fellow), she has a broad range of experience, including long term residential property ownership and management, banking and mortgage finance markets, investment and risk management. 

Susan is known for working closely with boards and senior leadership teams to influence, shape and embed cultural change, always taking a person-centred, collaborative approach. 

Alongside her executive work, Susan is an experienced non executive director. She currently serves on the board of VSO International where she also chairs the Audit & Risk Committee, and Saltaire Housing. Saltaire Housing oversees the Government’s £6bn Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme.