Chief operating officer at Purplebricks joins Bloom & Wild
Dominique Highfield, chief operating officer at Purplebricks, has been hired by the London-based online flower firm Bloom & Wild.
Highfield has been at Purplebricks for almost two years, first joining in November 2022 as its chief financial officer before moving to her most reason role as chief operating officer in October 2023.
Highfield, who has remained with Purplebricks after the sale to Strike for £1, replaced Steve Long as chief financial officer at the online estate agency.
She joined Purplebricks from Pentland Brands, the large privately-owned business housing well-known retail brands, where she worked as director of finances.
She has 17 years of experience in finance including Sainsbury’s and Amazon.
Highfield said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Bloom & Wild team on its next chapter of growth.
“I have been an avid admirer of the business and the exceptional customer experience they deliver for many years.
“I am looking forward to working with Aron and the Bloom & Wild talent to help take this fantastic international business from strength to strength.”
Alison Nunez to replace Simon Cross as Sequence divisional managing director
After 17 years in the role, Simon Cross is stepping down as divisional managing director of the Southern region of Sequence, one of Connells Group’s core estate agency businesses.
Cross has made a significant contribution to Connells Group’s Estate Agency and Mortgage Services divisions over 37 years’ service in total, and over the last 17 years he has led the south division. After stepping down from his role, he will remain within Connells Group to support on future projects.
Giles Hart, Connells Group’s national managing director (estate agency), said: “We are thankful to Simon for the outstanding contribution he has provided throughout a distinguished career over 37 years of service. We are delighted Simon will be staying within Connells Group working on some key projects for the business ahead.”
Cross will leave the post at the end of 2024 and Alison Nunez has been appointed to fill the role of divisional MD for Sequence’s South Division. Nunez brings a wealth of property experience to Connells Group, having experience in residential sales, lettings and new hmes.
Nunez commented, “I am delighted to be returning to the Group where I started my career. Coming back is a perfect fit for me and I am excited to contribute to the future of the Sequence South business.”
ARL announces new board succession in line with wider strategic remit
The Association for Rental Living (ARL) has announced the line-up of its new non executive board.
New board induction is underway, with the new members due to formally take over the governance, control and strategic direction of the ARL as of its Annual General Meeting in late November 2024.
Helen Kings, chartered director and founder of Kings Residential, who holds over 10 years of executive and non-executive real estate experience including as former Managing Director of Touchstone Residential, one of the UK’s biggest third-party property managers, will serve as Chair.
Blending a commercial background with Build to Rent and wider private rented sector expertise including shared ownership, student and retirement sectors, Kings has experience of corporate growth and expansion.
Appointed as vice chair and treasurer is Harry Swales, director and head of residential at Dorrington. Swales has significant experience of residential investment strategy and portfolio management, following a 20-year career that has spanned government, banking, private equity and real estate.
Providing legal expertise on the new Board is Cyrille West, Eversheds Sutherland’s head of Build to Rent, London and a key member of the firm’s Living Sector group. In addition to Build to Rent, his 20 or more years’ experience in the operational residential real estate market encompasses the hotel, affordable, student and senior living sectors.
Appointed to lead the board on governance is Karen Cooksley. Qualified solicitor and real estate sector specialist consultant, Cooksley commands over three decades of experience in the legal sphere with a planning specialism. As well as an impressive track record of successful local council lobbying Cooksley advises board-level clients across a variety of sectors including property.
Founder of three consulting businesses utilising her legal expertise within the ESG space, Cooksley also holds a series of non-executive appointments including with the Edmund de Rothschild-backed Funding Affordable Housing, Housing Association (FAHHA).
Serving as an independent voice on the board is Martin Bellinger, who has more than 30 years’ experience in real estate, notably in affordable housing spanning both the public and private sectors. Bellinger is a pioneer of the BTR sector, having been one of the founders of Essential Living, delivering the first BTR scheme to include discount market rent homes and the first to use offsite manufacturing. Martin is a Founding Director of Goodstone Living, which currently has almost 1,000 homes under construction.
Stephanie Smith, the head of living sector at Hubbl, completes the new ARL board appointments in the role of secretary. Smith, also chair of the ARL Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, brings over 20 years of experience in living sector operations, training, and asset management to the position, having built a career internationally across 11 countries including multifamily/BTR, single family rental, student and senior living assets. Smith’s previous roles also include Director of Residential Operations for Invesco, where she was responsible for the £2.5 billion pan-European portfolio.
Lesley Roberts, chair of the ARL, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming the new board to the ARL at this key point in the organisation’s evolution. The current Board has served since just before Covid in 2019 and now feel that the ARL is ready to supercharge the next phase of membership growth and strategic positioning within the rental living sector ecosystem. The ARL’s next period of expansion requires fresh energy, perspective and a diversity of knowledge and expertise which this new Board will bring. We’re confident the organisation will be in safe hands.
“The Nominations Committee had a really tough gig filtering and selecting candidates from a large and very talented pool of applicants. The aim was to create a capability, gender and skills mix that would allow the ARL to fire on all cylinders of the strategic vision going forward and meet the needs of members, and I think we’ve achieved that.
“Our sincere appreciation goes to those who applied and also to those on the Nominations Committee who gave their time, expertise and energy in shaping and selecting the new Board cohort. Congratulations to all new ARL Board Members.”
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