Brian Johnson joins Moat as chief executive

Brian Johnson became Moat’s new chief executive in September. He joined from CityWest Homes, the Westminster Council Arms Length Management Organisation, where he was chief executive for four years.

Brian took CityWest to a 3 Star Audit Commission inspection rating and he believes the same can be achieved at Moat. He also established the first large scale grant funded ALMO development programme in the country.

He says: “Moat is full of great staff, with the right values and with an ambition to achieve excellent results for our customers and local partners.

“I want to see us creating a service that supports more people to move forward in their lives and communities where people with a range of different economic circumstances feel comfortable to live in Moat homes. There is too big a gap between social sector housing and private sector housing at the moment, in cost and in perception. I want people to feel a real brand loyalty to Moat; to boast about being in a Moat home. Achieving that will mean we’ve created a great service and great places to live.”

Brian believes one key to success will be the quality of our partnerships with local authorities. “We all know that housing is only part of the answer. For many people in social housing, there are underlying disadvantages which prevent them getting on. The only way to tackle some of those issues is through effective partnerships. Local authorities, housing associations and other local service providers need to come together more effectively to deliver social and economic development policies.”

He believes Moat has a lot to offer local authorities. “I’ve joined a housing association with a fantastic product range and with good financial strength. We have a powerful, holistic regeneration offer and real development expertise across the board from social rent through the intermediate market to homes for outright sale. Moat is a long term investor in communities and we are in a excellent position to ride through the housing market storm and continue delivering high quality living environments that meet local housing needs.

“I hope my experience of working very closely with local authority leaders in Westminster and elsewhere will help Moat to develop stronger relationships with local partners and really deliver the goods for customers.”

Brian has taken over from John Barker, who retired in September after 20 years at the helm.

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