Executive Leadership Team
The Executive Leadership Team is the most senior decision-making group and operates collectively, concentrating on strategic issues affecting organisational performance. The Executive Leadership Team is supported by a Senior Leadership Team made up of heads of service across the organisation.
Housing Ombudsman
Richard Blakeway
Richard was appointed as Housing Ombudsman from 1 September 2019. He has extensive experience in the housing sector, with previous roles including Deputy Mayor of London for Housing, chair of the Homes for London board and a non-executive director of Homes England.
During his eight years at the Greater London Authority, Richard was responsible for housing investment and land generation programmes. He also led the creation of the first team at City Hall to address rough sleeping, commissioning around £10 million of services each year, as well as the first Social Impact Bond on homelessness.
Richard is a former board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has been an election observer in Somaliland and Ukraine. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and sits on the Administrative Justice Council.
Richard chaired the Ombudsman Association from 2021-24 and is a board member of the British Library.
Chief Operating Officer
Andrea Keenoy
Andrea joined the Housing Ombudsman Service in September 2015 as the Director of Finance and Corporate Performance. She was Interim Housing Ombudsman for a short time and was then appointed as Chief Operating Officer.
She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience. She previously worked for the National Audit Office (NAO) where she held roles overseeing the audits of a wide range of government departments and their arm’s-length bodies. She was also part of the technical support team, leading on a range of interventions aimed at improving governance, and was seconded to the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit.
Outside of work, Andrea is an Independent Commissioner the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and an Associate Governor at a maintained primary school, attending its Finance and Resources Committee. She is also a review team member of the International Ombudsman Institute’s peer review panel.
Director of Dispute Support and Resolution
Justin Crittall
Justin joined the Housing Ombudsman Service in August 2023 as the Director of Dispute Support and Resolution. Justin brings over 15 years’ experience of working in social housing with 8 years’ experience working in a variety of both operational and strategic senior management positions. These roles have included overseeing large front line customer facing teams, leading complaint management functions and the delivery of transformational programmes.
Justin holds a degree in Psychology and is a member of the Charted Institute of People Development. Outside of work Justin has held positions as an Advisory Board member within a local council and a Trustee for a local food charity.
Director of Finance, Procurement and Digital
Ben Taylor
Ben joined the Housing Ombudsman Service in September 2025 as the Director of Finance, Procurement and Digital. Ben is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years’ experience in a variety of organisations. Ben joins from the social housing sector where he was Finance Director at a large housing association.
Ben started his career in public sector audit with the Audit Commission before moving on to social housing regulation and then housing finance consultancy work with the Chartered Institute of Housing. He has extensive experience of financial accounting, business planning, driving financial performance through business partnering and transforming teams through embracing technology to improve ways of working.
Director of Corporate Services and Change
Birgit Lenton
Birgit joined the Housing Ombudsman Executive Team in February 2025. With over 20 years experience in business transformation, change management. and leadership, she has a strong focus on culture, customer, people and organisational development and continuous improvement.
Her roles saw her working for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) for 12 years in a number of senior UK national roles and a 4-year stint as a Director of Corporate Services and Culture for a UK-based housing association. More recently, she worked for Eleco plc, a global software provider to the construction industry, as their Transformation Director and Imperial College London.
Working in corporate, operational and change roles in a number of countries, industries and sectors and leading large, multi-site and mobile customer-facing teams, Birgit brings a rounded transformation skill set to The Housing Ombudsman Executive Team. She continues updating her skills as a member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and by engaging with thought leaders in her network.
Director of Quality, Engagement and Development
Sara is joining the Housing Ombudsman Service on an interim basis, bringing extensive experience as a senior leader in complaints resolution and professional regulation.
She has direct experience of ombudsman work, having worked in her early career at the Housing Ombudsman Service when it was first established and was operating as the Housing Association Tenants’ Ombudsman. She also spent five years as an Assistant Ombudsman at the Prisons Ombudsman Office.
For nearly two decades Sara held senior leadership roles at the Bar Standards Board (the regulator of barristers in England and Wale) including Director of Professional Conduct and Director of Legal and Enforcement. In those roles, she had strategic and operational responsibility for the investigations, enforcement and legal functions.
Sara has particular experience in leading teams through change, improving performance and supporting staff in demanding, high-volume environments. She is interested in how organisations can combine excellent service, strong standards and accountability with a fair and supportive working culture.