Leathermarket JMB appoints new CEO

We’re pleased to announce that Abbi Agana has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Leathermarket JMB, building on the past nine months she has spent with us as Chief Transformation Officer.

 

Since joining the organisation, Abbi has worked closely with residents, staff and the Board to gain a deep understanding of what has held Leathermarket JMB back from fulfilling its full potential. Many residents will recognise Abbi from the last AGM, where she began a series of conversations focused on listening, learning, and shaping the changes needed to strengthen services and resident experience.

 

Over the last nine months, early improvements and adjustments have already begun — and Abbi is clear there is more to do. Stepping into the CEO role during our 30th anniversary year, she is committed to delivering sustained, lasting change with residents and for residents, and to achieving a shared ambition: making Leathermarket JMB an excellent organisation.

 

Abbi brings a wealth of experience across social housing, local government and the NHS and private sectors — and a personal understanding of the realities residents can face. She grew up in social housing in Brixton Hill (Lambeth) and has dedicated her career to improving quality of living for residents and communities that feel overlooked and underserved.

 

Abbi began her housing career in 2001 at Origin Housing (St Pancras and Humanist, as it was then), progressing quickly into senior leadership roles including Director of Business Excellence at Peabody, Director roles at Southern Housing and Golding Homes, and Chief Operating Officer at Octavia Housing, where resident engagement and involvement was a key part of her remit. She has also served as a joint commissioner for the London Borough of Lewisham, held C‑suite roles in the private sector, and worked at Macmillan Cancer Support, along with sitting on the board for Housing for Women — experience she will now bring together to drive improvement and deliver the organisation’s ambitions.

 

Abbi will be out and about in the community in the coming weeks: she and our new Chair, Clive Shaw, will be attending TRA meetings to meet residents, hear what matters most locally, and continue shaping the next phase of improvement.

 

“I feel honoured to now be in the position to make sustained lasting change, with you and for you, as your CEO — in this auspicious 30th anniversary year.”

— Abbi Agana, CEO