ECL board

Peter joined ECL as managing director in April 2023, in a joint role alongside his position as Director of Strategy, Performance and Assurance (Adult Social Care) with Essex County Council (ECC).

Since 2017, Peter has led the Council’s work with NHS partners and integrated care systems, as well as managing the strategic planning for adult social care and leading its data, digital and technology agenda. He directed the nationally award-winning programmes for care technology transformation in adult social care in Essex, and the Connect transformation programme for improving outcomes for older people by improving hospital discharge outcomes and improving the effectiveness of intermediate care services.

In previous roles at ECC, Peter has been Head of Corporate Policy and Strategy, leading Essex County Council’s corporate strategy work and policy work on the Care Act and health and social care integration, child poverty strategy and the Essex voluntary and community sector framework. Peter has also previously been Head of the Leader’s and Cabinet Office, providing strategic advice and support to the then Leader of Essex County Council and their Cabinet.

Prior to joining ECC in 2008, Peter worked in a variety of public affairs consultancy roles advising both private and public organisations on their business strategies and has also worked in the House of Commons as a parliamentary researcher. He has excellent knowledge of both local and national political processes.

Peter has a First Class degree in History from Cambridge University and in his spare time enjoys cooking, reading widely, running. doing artwork, and playing guitar. He is also a big fan of football.

Jenni joined ECL in March 2024 as Director of People and Change. She has 20 years’ experience working within HR in the health and social care sector.

She joined ECL from Saint Francis Hospice in Romford, where she was Director of People and Culture for two years. Prior to this she held a number of positions with Provide (formerly Mid Essex PCT). In her 11 years with Provide Jenni worked her way from HR Business Partner through to Head of HR, Assistant Director of HR and then as Assistant Director of Organisational Development and Talent.

She began her career in HR within the NHS, joining their management graduate programme in 2004 where she was based at Ipswich Hospital as an HR Advisor. While with the NHS she completed her diploma and master’s degree in human resource management.

Jenni believes organisations should ensure employees can deliver their best by providing a great work environment. She is passionate about inclusion and wellbeing.

She is a Mental Health First Aider and a Schwartz Rounds facilitator trained by The Point of Care Foundation. This training means she is an advocate for ensuring staff have safe spaces for connecting with colleagues to share experiences and discuss the emotional and social aspects of working in health and social care.

In addition to being passionate about health and wellbeing, Jenni is fascinated by what makes people tick, in addition to her HR degrees she also has a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science.

A mother of two, Jenni is a keen runner and ran the 2024 London Marathon in April which was her fourth marathon.

Mark joined ECL in June 2024 on a fixed term contract, as Head of Digital and Support Services. He has over 35 years of management experience with decades as a senior leader. From 1st April 2025 he takes on the role of ECL Director of Digital Transformation and Strategic Planning.

In 2014, Mark took the conscious decision to ‘put something back into society’ by joining the Housing/Care sector. He joins ECL from Sanctuary/Swan Housing – a Housing Association which had a strong Care business, where he was Director of IT for almost six years and additionally ran major incident management and business continuity processes. Before that, Mark was the Chief Technical Officer at Metropolitan Housing from 2014 to 2018 – a large Housing Association with a large Care business across England.

Mark has held multiple senior posts in the airline and travel sectors including British Airways, James Villa Holidays, The UNITE Group – the largest provider of student accommodation in the UK and has also worked with Accenture. He held responsibility for varied teams, including IT, process automation, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, airport infrastructure, call centres, governance and audit.

Mark is a certified member of many professional bodies including those for Enterprise Architecture and IT/Data Security and Risk Management.

An Essex resident, in Mark’s spare time he enjoys watching rugby at all levels and is an avid fan of motorsports.

Michael joined ECL as Chair of the Board in September 2019.  He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has been Chief Executive of PA Housing since 2022.

Prior to this, Michael had an extensive career at KPMG where he was UK Chief Operating Officer.   He has also been a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair at Housing 21, a leading, not-for-profit provider of retirement housing; and has been a Trustee of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

Edward is a trustee at Age Well East (formerly Age Concern Colchester) and was previously a Non-Executive Director at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) where he was Chair of the Performance and Finance Committee. 

Edward previously served as a senior Civil Servant with the Ministry of Justice, where his roles included Head of the Court Funds Office, Head of the Office of the Accountant General and HM Chief Inspector of Court Administration for England and Wales.  He also served for six years as Public Trustee for England and Wales which included being the Custodian Trustee and member of the Management Committee for the Chequers Estate, overseeing maintenance of the Estate within budget to provide a safe, secure and comfortable residence for the Prime Minister and family.  Edward is a resident of Colchester. 

Wendy currently sits as a Justice of the Peace for the North Essex Bench.  She was ECL’s Interim Director of Corporate Development from August 2023 to February 2024 and held the position of Director of Quality and Governance at ECL from 2014 to 2020.  

Wendy has also previously served as a Non-Executive Director at the East of England Ambulance Service and has an extensive background in nursing and care.  Wendy worked in the NHS for 39 years and held senior roles during this time which included the Director for Nursing and Quality (NHS Newham, 2001-2012) and as Director of Nursing and Clinical Governance (Essex and Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, 1999–2001).  Wendy has also served as a specialist advisor for the Care Quality Commission (2013–2015) and joined the bank of Essex Partnership University Trust in December 2020 in order to administer COVID19 vaccinations.  Wendy is a resident of Chelmsford.

Louise is currently Executive Director for People and Culture at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health . Louise has held senior HR roles in statutory and regulatory services and brings a wealth of experience to ECL in the field of People and Organisational culture including strategic planning and management, change management and performance management.

Through her role as a carer for her father, Louise is familiar with the issues and challenges of enabling those who require additional support to live as independently as possible. Louise lives within the Braintree district.