heylo's leadership team

heylo Board

Meet heylo’s board members.

Giles Mackay

Founder

Giles Mackay is heylo’s main founder. He established the business in 2017 and now sits on the boards for HHGL.

Giles started his career in the structured finance sector, before moving onto a series of entrepreneurial endeavours in the property and housing sectors; he has established 13 businesses since his career began.

In 1999, Giles founded market intelligence and valuations provider Hometrack, one of the first Proptech businesses and a revolutionary in the UK property valuation industry. Hometrack was sold to Zoopla in 2017. Other ventures include AI firm Outra, established in 2017, which identifies consumer patterns to connect brands with digital marketplaces. In 2021, Giles is launching a new mortgage business specifically for affordable homes, a single-family home PRS business and iBuying business Upstix.

Andrew Géczy

Heylo CEO

Andrew sits on the HHRP board is heylo’s CEO. In his 30-year career, he has held leadership and CEO positions across the world with a number of international financial brands.

Most recently, Andrew was CEO for Terra Firma Capital Partners. Before this he had served as CEO International & Institutional Banking Division at Australia New Zealand Banking Group, responsible for wholesale and retail banking in 34 countries, as well as CEO Wholesale Banking and Markets for Lloyds Banking Group. In 2005, he also established Manresa Partners, a specialist investment advisory and asset management firm.

Andrew has served on the boards of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), as well as chairing the British Banking Association Committee on the Reformation of LIBOR. He is also one of the founders of humanitarian charity International Medical Corp UK.

Why heylo?

“I am passionate about making home ownership affordable. Through our home ownership schemes Home Reach and Your Home, we’re able to help families purchase a home they never thought they’d be able to live in.”

Nick Jopling

Senior Independent Director and member of the Remuneration and Nominations committee

Nick Jopling sits on the HHGL board.

He is the principal of Square House Consultancy LLP, a specialist advisory company focused on the housing sector across a range of countries. Nick has sat on the board for FTSE 250-listed property company Grainger PLC and he headed CBRE’s UK residential platform in the UK between 2003 and 2010. He was Founder and Co-chair of the European Residential Council of the Urban Land Institute, having previously established the UK Residential Council where he oversaw the publication of the Best Practise Design Guide for Build to Rent (Multi-Family Housing).

In 2014, Nick was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in recognition of his contribution to the housing sector.

David Montague

Chair of HHRP

David sits on the HHGL and HHRP Board. David spent 33 years at leading housing association L&Q rising through the ranks to CFO and then CEO for 13 years. During his time L&Q grew to over 100,000 homes across all tenures with another 100,000 homes in the development pipeline. David chaired G15 (the group of largest 15 housing associations in London), sat on the Board of the National Housing Federation and in 2013 was awarded a CBE for services to housing.

David now acts in an advisory and Non Executive capacity for a number of residential developers and sits on the Board of The Housing Finance Corporation.

Why heylo?

“Affordable housing is in my blood. I have dedicated my career to helping people from all walks of life to find a home they can afford. Shared ownership is a great product and has so much potential. heylo has matured as a trusted, well governed partner and has the vision, values and firepower to deliver.”

Priya Nair

Priya is a member of the HHRP board. She has over two decades’ experience in global financial services, having worked across the global markets, investment banking and securities services sectors for financial institutions including Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and Royal Bank of Canada. Currently, she is Senior Investment Director, Infrastructure private equity at abrdn.

Alongside her role as non-executive director at heylo, Priya is a senior adviser to Good Governance Capital and strategic adviser to EnergyNest. She is also a board trustee for community sports charity Sported.

Priya has spoken at major conferences across the world and she champions diversity and inclusion, team development and mentoring programmes.

Why heylo?

“Heylo is on a social mission to make home ownership affordable for more people. The heylo team has a long track record of great relationships with its stakeholders, partners and customers, and its home ownership solutions are UK-wide – not regional, or just London based – which makes it very special.”

Andrew Adonis

The Rt Hon Lord Adonis of Camden Town has spent a career in public service including service as Secretary of State for Transport, Minister for Schools, Head of the Downing Street Policy Unit, Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission and non-executive board member of HS2 Ltd and Teach First. He has been directly involved in major housing development and regeneration schemes associated with HS2 and London’s Crossrail (Elizabeth) line, and he led a Centre for London planning group for Crossrail 2, which reported to the Mayor of London in 2016 focusing on its potential for housing-led regeneration.

Why heylo?

“heylo is a national leader in shared ownership, and I passionately support its mission to make it a fourth tenure to help extend home ownership and good quality housing to lower income families nationwide. Most of our developments are outside the M25 and we play a key part to play in the national mission to level-up.”

Jos Short

Chair of Audit & Risk Committee, and Chair of Remunerations and Nominations Committee

Jos Short sits on the HHGL board. His appointment to the board follows a long career in investment banking, across a number of British investment banks and as Chief Executive of Pan European Opportunistic Real Estate Investment with US Prudential. In 2008, Jos set up Internos Global Investors which was sold in 2018 to Principal Global Investors.

Jos has been a non-executive director of heylo since 2014. He is deputy chairman of Annington Homes and has previously served on the boards of Big Yellow Self Storage and Great Portland Estates.

Why heylo?

“Shared ownership provides an important solution for so many people unable to access or afford their first home in the traditional way. Heylo itself is fast becoming a market leader in this sector thanks to its knowledgeable team of professionals.”

Grenville Turner

Chair of HHGL

Grenville Turner is the Chairman of HHGL.

Grenville’s 30-year career in retail banking began at Halifax in 1975 and culminated in a position on the retail board and a role as CEO of Intelligent Finance. In 2006, Grenville joined Countrywide as CEO and privatised the business in 2007.

After refloating Countrywide in 2013, Grenville took a non-executive role as Chairman of the board for 18 months. He now sits on the board of a number of organisations as Chair, including online estate agents Yopa and Watkin Jones, a developer and manager of student accommodation and other build-to-rent schemes. He was a founding director of Rightmove, and an early director of Zoopla.

Grenville also served in Government departments for communities and local government, of which Homes England were a part, bringing another dimension to his experience of the housing sector.

Why heylo?

“I’m lucky to be in a position to be able to work with businesses and people who make a real contribution to their communities. Heylo’s innovative approach to widening out home ownership is a cause very close to my heart after working in the housing sector for such a long time. This is an exciting business, and an excellent team.”

Salma Shah

Salma is a member of the HHRP Board. Salma Shah is a communications, public policy and government affairs expert, with over 10 years’ experience in Westminster and Whitehall.

Salma was Special Adviser responsible for strategy, policy and communication across the several government departments. She served in the UK government from May 2014, in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) leaving Government, after serving in the Home Office.

Prior to this Salma was a journalist at the BBC, producing the Today programme on Radio 4.

Why heylo?

“Good housing is a central component to building a secure and prosperous life. Shared ownership is a transformative product for people aiming to get on the housing ladder so supporting a talented, professional team to deliver homes that people can build their lives in is a huge privilege."

Tabitha Kassem

Member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee

Tabitha is a member of the HHRP Board. Tabitha has worked across the public, private and charitable sectors in a variety of legal, governance, and regulatory compliance roles bringing into play a breadth of experience in strategy, corporate structuring, and executive relations across housing and regulatory sectors. Tabitha is a qualified solicitor with over 15 years post qualification experience and is currently employed as an Executive Director in a G15 housing association with properties across London and the Southeast. She is also a trustee for NACRO, a social justice charity providing housing, education, and support to reintegrate people in custody and the community into society.

Why heylo?

“Having a safe, secure, and affordable home is the foundation for building a better life. I see shared ownership as a solution for many, enabling security of tenure and flexibility for the individual but also a means to diversifying communities and the housing market. I am delighted to be able to support heylo, an organisation that shares this passion alongside a commitment to acting with integrity and putting their customers first.”

Tim Willcocks

Tim is heylo’s Director of Public Sector Engagement and sits on the HHRP board. He is responsible for managing key relationships with Government, Homes England and the Regulator of Social Housing, as well as local authorities across the country.

Tim has over 25 years’ experience in the property world, including sales and marketing, development, consultancy and housing policy. He joined the affordable housing sector in 2007, and has worked for the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) and for Housing Associations at Executive Director and Board level.

Why heylo?

“I love the energy and passion, a small but dedicated team making a profound difference in the sector. Having worked in affordable housing for a number of years, heylo was an opportunity too good to miss.”