The 2018 cohort of Leadership 2025 participants are highlighted below.
Click here to view the Leadership 2025 alumni and Success Stories.
Chatinder Bal
Residential Development Director, Metropolitan Thames Valley
Chatinder is the Residential Development Director at Metropolitan Thames Valley and a member of the Development leadership team. He is responsible for delivering a 2,000 home a year mixed tenure programme across London, South East and the Midlands.
Chatinder has worked for Thames Valley for over 10 years and within the development sector for over 15years. He has extensive experience in sourcing, securing and delivering a variety of mixed tenure sustainable developments. Chatinder has a passion of getting a deal done, and forging long term mutually beneficial partnerships.
Chatinder is also a Board member of Opal Land, a strategic Joint Venture between MTVH and Galliford Try. Opal is a highly successful joint venture, delivering over 1,800 homes with a Gross Development Value of £750million.
Chatinder has worked for Thames Valley for over 10 years and within the development sector for over 15years. He has extensive experience in sourcing, securing and delivering a variety of mixed tenure sustainable developments. Chatinder has a passion of getting a deal done, and forging long term mutually beneficial partnerships.
Chatinder is also a Board member of Opal Land, a strategic Joint Venture between MTVH and Galliford Try. Opal is a highly successful joint venture, delivering over 1,800 homes with a Gross Development Value of £750million.
Jehan Weerashinghe
Director of Innovation & Improvement, Glasgow Housing Association
Jehan is Director of Innovation & Improvement at the award winning Glasgow Housing Association (part of the Wheatley Group). He took up this position in March 2019 and will lead GHA’s approach to digital services.
Jehan’s housing career began in 2002 at L&Q where he has covered a variety of roles relating to regeneration, community development and housing services. He is a passionate advocate of diversity and inclusion and has an award-winning track record of engaging with hard to reach communities. “Inspiration, energy and change” are the three words that sums up Jehan’s approach to being a leader in housing.
Outside of L&Q Jehan has worked at The Office for National Statistics and IBM.
Social issues have always been a key driver for Jehan, and he has a degree in Sociology (Reading) and a master’s degree in Comparative Social Research (Oxon).
Jehan is also a governor at Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Jehan’s housing career began in 2002 at L&Q where he has covered a variety of roles relating to regeneration, community development and housing services. He is a passionate advocate of diversity and inclusion and has an award-winning track record of engaging with hard to reach communities. “Inspiration, energy and change” are the three words that sums up Jehan’s approach to being a leader in housing.
Outside of L&Q Jehan has worked at The Office for National Statistics and IBM.
Social issues have always been a key driver for Jehan, and he has a degree in Sociology (Reading) and a master’s degree in Comparative Social Research (Oxon).
Jehan is also a governor at Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Makanjuola Akinyemi
Director of Property Services, Gateway
Makanjuola is an experienced executive with 24 years’ experience in property services and asset management having started his career in private practice at Reddin and Nuttall Chartered Building Surveyors in 1994. Makanjuola is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building. Makanjuola is currently a Non-Executive Board member of Rosebery Housing Association in Epsom. Makanjuola is currently a Director of Central Housing Investment Consortium. Apart from Registered Social Housing sector, Makanjuola has worked in the Charity sector for Action for Children. Makanjuola is currently the Director of Property Services at Gateway Housing Association a position he occupied in 2013.
Recent achievements include the creation of ‘Gateway Homeworks’ which is a in-house contractor service that delivers responsive repairs including void re-servicing, estate services, planned and cyclical works including cyclical decorations and refurbishment of kitchens and bathrooms.
Makanjuola is an ex-international cricketer and a keen squash player.
Recent achievements include the creation of ‘Gateway Homeworks’ which is a in-house contractor service that delivers responsive repairs including void re-servicing, estate services, planned and cyclical works including cyclical decorations and refurbishment of kitchens and bathrooms.
Makanjuola is an ex-international cricketer and a keen squash player.
Terence Wong
Director of Financial Services, L&Q
Terence’s involvement in the social housing sector started at KPMG where he trained and qualified as a chartered accountant.
From KPMG, Terence joined Genesis HG where he held a senior finance position and took charge of the Group financial services function. From there, he moved to L&Q, and has been instrumental in shaping its finance division, leading to its recognition as Finance Team of the year in 2016 at the NHF-organised HANA awards. Terence established L&Q as an accredited training employer for the Institute of Chartered Accountants and champions a growing graduate trainee programme.
Terence sits on the Leadership Strategy Group at L&Q as Director of Financial Services and has management responsibility for financial control and reporting, finance operations, business partnering, tax and pensions.
Outside of work, Terence is focused on his family and moonlights as chauffeur to his young teenage boys.
From KPMG, Terence joined Genesis HG where he held a senior finance position and took charge of the Group financial services function. From there, he moved to L&Q, and has been instrumental in shaping its finance division, leading to its recognition as Finance Team of the year in 2016 at the NHF-organised HANA awards. Terence established L&Q as an accredited training employer for the Institute of Chartered Accountants and champions a growing graduate trainee programme.
Terence sits on the Leadership Strategy Group at L&Q as Director of Financial Services and has management responsibility for financial control and reporting, finance operations, business partnering, tax and pensions.
Outside of work, Terence is focused on his family and moonlights as chauffeur to his young teenage boys.
Yinka Bolaji
Executive Director, Property and Development, Wandle HA
Yinka Bolaji is the Executive Director, Property and Development at Wandle Housing Association, overseeing a portfolio of 7000 dwellings in South London. He has over 20 years’ experience in housing and social care sector, lately in senior management roles at Genesis Housing Association and Anchor Trust.
Yinka has successfully developed a wide range of projects and has implemented asset management strategies with significant business and investment planning outcomes. He holds a degree in Quantity Surveying and an MBA from Cambridge University. He is a non-Exec trustee of Howard Cottage Housing Association based in Letchworth.
Yinka has successfully developed a wide range of projects and has implemented asset management strategies with significant business and investment planning outcomes. He holds a degree in Quantity Surveying and an MBA from Cambridge University. He is a non-Exec trustee of Howard Cottage Housing Association based in Letchworth.