Announcement follows resignation of former chief executive earlier this year
Rachael Shimmin will step up as Anchor’s new chief executive in January 2026.
Shimmin is currently chief executive at Buckinghamshire County Council and led the merge of five councils in the county to create a single unitary authority in 2020.
She also chairs a network of county council bosses and has previously served as corporate director at Durham County Council.
The appointment follows the resignation of former Anchor chief executive Sarah Jones in June after three years at the helm, with chief financial officer Amanda Holgate stepping into the role on an interim basis.
Holgate will remain at the housing association as chief financial officer.
The reason for Jones’ departure has not been confirmed.
In February, the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) opened an investigation into the 54,000-home later living provider after finding several failures relating to safety.
Anchor was found to have breached the regulator’s governance and financial viability standard following the probe in June, a few days after the announcement of Jones’ resignation.
At the time, Christopher Kemball, chair of Anchor said the provider had already embarked on a “comprehensive improvement plan with urgency.”
The £628m-turnover landlord has also made two further senior appointments this week.
Dan Ryans will join as executive director of care services in the new year. He is currently deputy chief executive officer and director of operations at later living provider MHA and a trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust.
Meanwhile, Julie Wittich’s job title has changed from executive director of property and assets to executive director of operations after joining the team in June 2025. This means she will also have responsibility for Anchor’s customer and housing services.
Before starting at Anchor, Wittich was chief operating officer at Accent.
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