Orbit announces appointment of technology and data director

Orbit has announced the appointment of Neil Laird as its new technology and data director.

Laird has joined the £400m-turnover housing provider, succeeding Andy Godber who retired last week.

Laird will lead the west midlands landlord’s push to embed data-driven decision making in support of Orbit’s 2030 ambition to deliver “among the best customer experience” of any housing association in the country. He will lead the organisation’s data and technology teams.

Laird’s background includes delivering improvements in service reliability, data capability, cyber resilience and digital customer experience in leadership roles at a range of companies including energy efficiency sector software firm Correla, Bestway Retail, Halfords and Serco.

Liz Robson, chief technology & information officer at Orbit, added: “He [Laird] brings extensive cross-sector experience in leading the delivery of digital transformation programmes as well as using data to support effective decision making.”