Five Lamps is delighted to announce the appointment of Lisa Pickard as its new Group Chief Executive. Lisa takes up the post in early March 2019 and will replace Graeme Oram, who is retiring from the organisation after 16 years’ service.
Lisa comes to Five Lamps with extensive and varied experience in housing, social care and finance sectors. Joining us from the independent Care Group where she was Chief Executive and previously spent 22 years working in social housing both locally and nationally, including a spell with the housing regulator and latterly as Chief Executive of a housing association in Leeds.
Lisa said:
“This is a dream job for me; a cliché but true. It’s a role that brings together all aspects of my career and an organisation that mirrors my values and passion around equality and inclusion. As co-founder of Real Life Reform I saw first hand the devastating impact high cost lending has on families and communities. To be able to lead an organisation that shares my passion to support communities, to inspire young people, to encourage local enterprise and give people access to affordable lending as well as providing a home care service and regenerating empty homes to provide much needed affordable housing and in an area where I live, is just right up my street! I have been so inspired by Five Lamps; it’s a privilege to become their new Group Chief Executive and build on the strong legacy that Graeme hands over when he retires.”
Five Lamps is a charity based in Stockton-On-Tees, which was established in 1985 and has grown to be a recognised and highly regarded social enterprise providing essential services to the local and national community. Five Lamps’ range of services includes domiciliary home care, hospital discharge, youth clubs, employment support for young people and enterprise mentoring and coaching.
Through its Trading Company, Five Lamps is a responsible finance provider, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and provides personal loans to customers who are looking to break out of the high-cost debt cycle. Five Lamps’ lending allows these customers to develop and build positive credit histories through flexible loans with APRs much lower than those of competitors.
Graeme Oram says:
“I am thrilled to be handing over the leadership of Five Lamps to Lisa. She is a proven leader with a real passion for communities and the inclusion agenda. Both our Charity and our Trading Company are ambitious for growth and I know that Lisa is excited by the challenge.
It’s hard to believe that it’s over sixteen years since I joined Five Lamps. It has been an incredible journey which has taken us from working only in Thornaby on to a national platform across England and more recently in Scotland. We have focused on meeting unmet need and tackling the social, economic and financial exclusion which blights the lives of so many in our communities.”
For more information, please contact: nicolagarrett@fivelamps.org.uk