Express & Star

Walsall health boss to head housing association

The chair of Walsall's healthcare trust has now also been appointed chair of the whg housing association based in the town.

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Danielle Oum

Danielle Oum replaces Mike Hew, who took over the position on an interim basis following the stepping down of Walsall North MP Eddie Hughes in June.

She already has extensive experience in the sector haveing served on the boards of a number of other housing associations.

She also has a background in the learning and skills and regeneration sectors and has held senior roles in organisations that include the Black Country Consortium, Groundwork UK and the Learning and Skills Council.

Her current role is as chair of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides local general hospital and community services to around 260,000 people in the area.

Danielle said: “Whg is committed to growing its range of services in Walsall and beyond, and I’m really looking forward to working with them to extend this work to support more families across the region.”

Gary Fulford, whg's group chief executive, said: “I am thrilled to be welcoming Danielle Oum as our new chair of the board and my thanks go to Mike Hew for his excellent work as acting chair.

“Danielle joins us at a very exciting time for whg. We have ambitious plans to build more homes and develop our services. I have no doubt that Danielle will be a tremendous asset and I look forward to working with her in the future.”

Whg was originally formed as Walsall Housing Group, running the council's housing stock, but has now adopted the whg name as it expands it services across the wider Midlands. It currently houses more than 40,000 people in around 21,000 properties and has a presence in 18 local authority areas across the Midlands.