Meet the leadership team

Kate Henderson - Chief Executive

Kate joined the NHF as Chief Executive in October 2018. She is committed to ensuring that social housing remains high on the political agenda and that we achieve the best outcomes for our members – and most importantly for the people who need their services.

Kate is passionate about tackling the housing crisis, inequality and climate change. She is a member of several government panels including the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel and the Social Housing Quality Expert Challenge Panel.

Kate became a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2021. Prior to joining the NHF, Kate was Chief Executive of the Town and Country Planning Association.

Irfan Umarji - Executive Director of Finance and Business Services

Irfan joined the NHF in 2024. He was previously Director of Finance and Operations at Impetus, a not-for-profit that works in partnership with a portfolio of other charities to transform the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is also a Governor and Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee at Newham College, a further education college based in East London. Irfan is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) and has previously worked for both commercial and not-for-profit organisations including Moore Kingston Smith, Save the Children UK, The Royal College of Physicians and The Royal Society.

Rhys Moore - Executive Director of Public impact

Rhys started with the NHF in 2018 and oversees our policy, external affairs and communications work. Previously he was Director of the Living Wage Foundation where he worked with government, business and civil society to build a national movement of responsible employers. Before that, he helped to establish the London Community Foundation, which supports grassroots community groups in the capital.

Rhys is a board member of the Carers Trust.

Simon Nunn - Executive Director Member Services

Simon has worked at the NHF since 2009 and provides strategic leadership for the Member Services Directorate, including member relations, commercial partnerships, and conferences and events.

Before working at the NHF, Simon worked in national policy, research and public affairs roles and in corporate policy and corporate services in local government.

Alistair Smyth - Director of Policy and Research

Alistair joined the NHF in March 2023 on a 12-month secondment from The Guinness Partnership, where he held the role of Director of External Affairs and Social Investment.

Alistair has worked in the social housing sector for the last fifteen years in a wide range of roles and organisations including a previous spell at the NHF from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant on a range of neighbourhood and community empowerment projects. He also spent three years working in a customer-facing role as a Neighbourhood Manager and as Assistant Head of Neighbourhoods for Peabody. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Policy Advisory Committee.