Canopy’s AGM will take place via ZOOM at 1pm on Tuesday 29th June 2021. Feel free to arrive in the 10-15 minutes leading up to the meeting.
Join the AGM via Zoom by clicking here
You can also join the AGM by phone by calling 0330 088 5830 around the time the meeting starts. You will be asked for:
Meeting ID: 951 9962 6226
Passcode: 7149509185
Supporting documents
Board Elections
During the last year, we have taken the opportunity to review our governance arrangements. In light of our ambitions to become a registered provider of social housing, Board Members will now be asked to complete three-year terms before either standing down or seeking re-election.
To avoid a situation where they all stand down at once, each member will initially serve a one- two- or three-year term. This should mean that in future 1/3 of the Board will stand down or seek re-election each year.
Two new candidates who are standing for the first time in 2021 have been allocated three-year terms. The term lengths for the remaining Board Members have been decided by a straw poll.
Those seeking election in 2021 are listed below…
Board Members standing for three-year terms
Lyn Charters: Lyn plans to join Canopy’s Board for the first time this year. Having grown up in a poor area of Doncaster, she studied both law and civil engineering, which together helped her secure her current post as General Counsel and Company Secretary for Keepmoat Homes. She lives in Leeds and wants to help others create better lives for themselves by being given similar opportunities to progress.
Anna Łysakowska: Anna is another planning to join Canopy’s Board for the first time this year. She has a wealth of experience working with CATCH Leeds in Harehills and her son was among our first cohort of trainees in 2021. She is a keen advocate for the Gypsy and Roma Community and has worked with West Yorkshire Police around strategic planning and community engagement. She is now studying towards a BA in Innovation and Skills for Social Change at Leeds Beckett University.
Bridget Relton: Bridget is a tenant of Canopy Housing and our current Company Secretary. She has worked for national government agencies and MPs offices in both procurement and financial roles. She has a broad skillset including health and safety, human resources, construction and maintenance, civil engineering and dealing with the aftermath of flooding.
Board Members standing for two-year terms
Martyn Broadest: Martyn joined the Board in 2017 and currently chairs our Governance Subcommittee. He is Director of Home at Connect Housing. Having previously worked as an Environmental Health Officer, his current roles encompass development, asset management, customer services and community investment.
Janet Onslow: Janet first joined Canopy as a site volunteer. She is a Prince2 Project Manager and can think and work both strategically and practically. She has worked on projects including education sector capital builds and a programme to help long-term unemployed young people back into work. She has a business degree and has worked in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Mark Rutherford: Mark has been involved with Canopy’s Board since our early days and currently sits on our Equality and Diversity Review Group. He recently retired from his role leading Leeds City Council’s Empty Homes and Loans team. He is a qualified Environmental Health Officer who worked for the city’s housing and regeneration teams for almost 40 years.
Board members standing for one-year terms
Keith Gibson: Keith is our current Chair and has 40 years of experience working in local government, mostly in area regeneration and private sector housing renewal, but also managing teams dealing with food, health and safety, environmental sustainability and pollution control. At Leeds City Council, he managed a department of almost 100 staff with a budget of £8 million. He has a broad range of skills including building -construction, management, human resources and financial skills.
Mhairi Tomlinson (Treasurer): Mhairi joined the Board in 2017 and is our current Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Subcommittee. She is a chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience across a variety of areas including the energy, building society and charities sectors. Until recently she ran her own accountancy practice, providing finance and tax support to owner-managed businesses and charities. Currently she works as an accountant for a charity.