Meet the Board
Deb Austin (Chair)
Deb joined Newydd in 2016 and was elected Chair of Newydd Housing in 2023 before her appointment to Chair of Cadarn Housing Group. Prior to this she was Chair of the Governance Committee, which she remains a member of. Deb is a lay member for a local authority and holds a public appointment for Youth work. Deb is a qualified teacher and has a specialist interest in Children and Young People’s mental health and wellbeing.
Frances O’Brien (Vice-Chair)
Frances is an experienced senior executive local government leader and the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Neath Port Talbot Council. Having previously worked as Chief Officer at Monmouthshire County Council, with responsibility for a wide portfolio of services including, decarbonisation, climate change, housing, homelessness, economy, planning, strategic projects, waste services, highways and neighbourhood services.
Kris Ablett
Kris is a people-first leader with a reputation for turning ideas into action. With a background in customer experience and HR, he’s passionate about creating inclusive cultures and delivering top-notch service. Whether shaping strategy or driving change, Kris brings energy, empathy, and a love for building better communities.
Nigel Irvine
A highly experienced investor, board advisor and non-executive director, Nigel is chair of the Cadarn Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. He brings wide-ranging strategic leadership, corporate finance and risk capabilities gained from senior roles in major UK financial institutions and board roles in diverse other industries including manufacturing, engineering, hospitality and property investment. Nigel joined the board in 2021.
Peter Maggs
Peter is an experienced housing professional having spent his career within the sector. For 20 years he was Group Chief Executive at Pembrokeshire Housing. Since retiring he has held Board Member and Chair roles with Tai Tarian, Ty Hafan (Children’s Hospice) Hendre Group and Cadwyn. He Chairs the Igneous subsidiary.
Debra Wood-Lawson
Debra is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a career in human resource management. Debra is an Executive Director in NHS Wales, and held senior HR roles in Local Government, Welsh Executive Agency, as well as Higher Education and a private sector energy company.
Paul Evans
Paul was previously Chair of the Cadwyn Board and prior to that chaired Cadwyn’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. Paul is retired and has over 30 years’ experience in financial services. Paul is also an independent member of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee at Wales & West Housing.
Rachel Jones
Rachel joined the Newydd Housing Association Board in 2019 and was subsequently appointed as an Independent Member of the Cadarn Board in 2026. Rachel brings previous experience from the third sector, local government, Welsh Government and the NHS, where she worked across end of life care, health and social care integration, early intervention and prevention, and neighbourhood partnerships. She is currently the Head of Community Led Change (Wales) for the Lloyds Bank Foundation and a Trustee for Platfform, a Welsh mental health and social change charity.
Matt Brooks
Matt is an experienced strategic advisor. He brings to Newydd over 25 years of strategy, operational leadership and customer advocacy in high growth global businesses having held executive roles at OpenText and ResonateKT as well as senior roles in a large law firm, non-departmental regulatory public body and financial services. Matt joined the group board in September 2021.
Nick Lawley
Nick is a Director at Cooke & Arkwright Chartered Surveyors, based in Cardiff. He brings to Newydd almost 25 years of experience as a chartered surveyor advising on the sale and acquisition of land for residential development. Nick has been a member of the Board since September 2020.
