Our trustees
Ros Kerslake CBE has more than 25 years’ board level experience in the property and regeneration sectors, serving as chief executive, non-executive director and chair for a number of public, private and third sector organisations.
Previously she was Chief Executive Officer of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, overseeing circa £400m per annum of project investment, alongside a major organisation transformation programme of the UK-wide body. Her earlier roles include Chief Executive of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, leading urban regeneration across the UK, Chief Executive for Regen Co, Sandwell, and Director of Property at Network Rail.
Ros is on the board of Sanctuary Housing Group and Homes England and is a trustee of regeneration charity Re-form Heritage and the University College of Estate Management. She chairs Leeds Castle Foundation. She was awarded a CBE in 2020 and an OBE in 2016 for services to heritage. She is a qualified solicitor.
Roy Hodson joined the Board in April 2016. He brings considerable financial expertise to the Board having been a partner at PwC for 26 years, including serving clients in the property, construction and financial services sectors. Roy is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and also Director of a number of commercial companies. He mentors at the School for Social Entrepreneurs and the University of Manchester.
David Hunter is a professional Non-executive Director and Strategic Adviser focused principally on UK and International real estate. He is currently Chairman of two UK REITs. David is an Honorary Professor of Real Estate at Heriot-Watt University.
Audrey Carlin is an experienced leader in the delivery of heritage and regeneration projects. A Town Planner by profession, she has over 30 years of professional experience, delivering over £50m of regeneration focused activity in Scotland in this time, while working with a number of local authorities then with two of Scotland’s first Urban Regeneration Companies – Clydebank Rebuilt and Clyde Gateway. Audrey currently leads Wasps, Scotland’s largest provider of affordable high-quality studio, office and working space to the creative sector, as Chief Executive Officer. Wasps supports 1000 artists, creative industries and cultural tenants in 20 locations across Scotland, from the cities, rural areas, and Islands. Audrey is an active supporter of the arts and is Vice Chair to the Board of the National Galleries of Scotland and Chair of their Major Capital Projects Committee, overseeing nationally significant development projects including the Award winning expansion of the Scottish National Gallery, reopened in 2023.
Ade Alao leads on major real estate capital projects for DWP. He previously worked for the British Council and in local government with considerable expertise in project delivery, regeneration, housing and local economic development. He is on the board of Incommunities and previously held Non-Executive Director appointments as Chair of Northwards Housing and Vice-Chair of Salix Homes - both major housing associations in Greater Manchester.
Syreeta joined Muse in 2023 as the Head of Social Value and Sustainability from JLL where she was working as their EMEA Head of Social Value as part of the Global Sustainable Operations Team. With circa 15 years’ experience, six of which were in the construction sector working at Interserve and BAM UK, Syreeta has created and led various social and sustainability projects in partnership with private and public sector clients including Aviva, Legal and General Investment Management, La Salle and Homes England.
Syreeta’s main drives at Muse is to develop the combined strategy for social impact, sustainability, and equality, diversity and inclusion, called “Our Sustainable Future”. Syreeta brings her experience and expertise to AHF, supporting it on its journey to create impactful places and community hubs.
James was principal of a Central London commercial and mixed-use property development and investment business, The Property Merchant Group, which undertook a wide range of projects in Central London, of which the £50 million refurbishment and reconfiguration of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s One Finsbury Circus was a particular highlight. In a voluntary capacity, he is a Vice-President of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and a former director of Theatre Delicatessen, an important meanwhile occupier of major buildings, supporting over 11,000 artists.
Graham is Chief Executive of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, a place-based foundation that is the custodian of Letchworth Garden City, the world’s first Garden City. Prior to joining the Foundation, Graham was Chief Executive of Toynbee Hall an anti-poverty charity based in the East End. Graham’s career combines leadership roles in the voluntary sector, local and national Government, including as Chief Executive of MLA London, the strategic regional development agency for museums, libraries and archives and Director of London Libraries Development Agency, the strategic regional development agency for public libraries.
Alan has more than 40 years post-qualification experience in architecture. His professional experience started in 1974 as the office junior at Gwent County Council, and went on to include fifteen years in private practice in Central London, interspersed with stints where he returned to South Wales. He co-founded Gaunt Francis Architects in 1997.
Although all projects in Gaunt Francis are developed collaboratively, those which have Alan’s personal stamp include Llys Cadwyn – the town centre mixed-use scheme in Pontypridd; the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff which opened in 2023; the conversion and upgrading of Lutyens grade II* masterpiece ‘Britannic House’ in the City of London; the conversion of the grade II* former Public Record Office in London’s Chancery Lane into the Maughan library for Kings College London, and the British Council’s new-build headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Alan was Chair of the Design Commission for Wales from 2006 – 2016 at a time when a number of major projects for Wales were under scrutiny (including Central Square in Cardiff and the Cyfarthfa Ironworks masterplan) and when heavyweight discussions were in hand with Welsh Government about the energy debate and impact on Welsh Building Regulations. In July 2024 he was elected President of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales.
Karen Latimer is a library buildings consultant and Chief Adviser to UK Designing Libraries. In parallel with her professional career she has over 40 years’ experience in the architectural heritage sector in Northern Ireland and is currently on the Board of Hearth Historic Buildings Trust, The Boomhall Trust and the Irish Architectural Archive (Chair of the Collections Committee), and is Publications Editor for the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.
Greg is Chief Executive of the Churches Conservation Trust, a charity charged with the care of over 350 historic churches and dedicated to using these to support and regenerate communities. Previously he was the CEO of Heritage Lincolnshire, a heritage development trust with whom AHF has worked on a number of projects. Greg has also worked for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as Fund Manager for the £20m Derby Enterprise Growth Fund, as well as on a range of projects during a period running his own consultancy, including Townscape Heritage and LGBTQ history projects. In addition to serving on the board of AHF he was formerly a Trustee of the Arkwright Society, custodians of Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mills complex in the heart of Derbyshire's Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Esther Robinson Wild is a Historic Environment Consultant with extensive experience of working on a wide range of projects in all areas of the historic environment including listed buildings, historic buildings and places, conservation areas and archaeology. She has a background in finance and real estate having worked for over ten years as an Analyst in various City of London-based financial institutions. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), and former co-lead of the London School of Architecture and the AHF's jointly delivered Part 4 course 'Working with Heritage'. Esther has a MA in the Archaeology of Buildings from the University of York. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Neal Shasore is an architectural historian and Head of School at the London School of Architecture, based in Hackney, East London. He is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion in the built environment. He has published widely on architectural culture in early twentieth century Britain. He is a member of Historic England's London Advisory Committee.
Suzanne Snowden is a marketing and communications consultant with experience in a variety of communications, marketing and insights roles. As founder and Director at Message Consulting Limited, she helps clients with their messaging and thought leadership strategies, including the design and roll-out of complex international research campaigns. Previously Global Director of Thought Leadership at PwC, Suzanne led the firm’s research, marketing and insights programme globally. She brings experience advising on brand positioning, thought leadership, communications and digital marketing.
Andy Westwood is a Professor of Public Policy, Government and Business and a director of the Productivity Institute at the University of Manchester. He is also a governor at NIESR and at the University of Wolverhampton and an advisory board member of the Bennett Institute at Cambridge University. He also works as an expert adviser to a range of organisations including the IMF, OECD, EU and to the Economic Affairs Committee in the House of Lords. Previously he worked as a special adviser to UK ministers on innovation, education and skills during the last Labour government.
Peter Williams has spent over 30 years in a variety of both executive and non-executive positions in consumer-facing businesses spanning retail, leisure, media and consumer products. During his executive career, Peter was on the board of Selfridges for 13 years, initially as CFO and then as CEO, during its radical transformation to become the world’s leading department store. Following Selfridges, he was the CEO of Alpha Airports Group plc, which operated duty free retailing and airline catering in 15 countries. Peter’s extensive non-executive experience has included board positions at ASOS, boohoo, Rightmove, Superdry, Cineworld, Mister Spex, GCap Media, Capital Radio, U+I, Sophia Webster and Silverstone.