UK: Later living developer and operator Inspired Villages has bolstered its leadership team as two of the company’s originators join the C suite.
Neal Dale takes on the role of chief development and property officer, while James Cobb becomes chief customer officer.
Reporting into the CEO, the roles “will be at the forefront of delivering Inspired Villages’ growth ambitions through its pillars of buying sites well, building on time and budget whilst driving an unerring focus on putting the customer first”.
The moves come as Inspired Villages nears its seventh year with a commitment to expand its portfolio to 34 retirement villages over time, which equates to around 5,100 age-appropriate homes for more than 8,000 older people.
Dale has been with Inspired Villages since the start. He will now take on his new role with continued responsibility for Inspired Village’s land and planning, design, development and estates functions, as well as additional oversight on areas including Inspired’s ESG and overall sustainability initiatives.
Cobb’s enhanced remit will still cover strategic oversight of the sales and marketing function of the business, but now include ongoing engagement and wider support for residents through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tactics and customer satisfaction.
Jamie Bunce, CEO of Inspired Villages, said: “We are delighted to announce the evolution of these two key roles at Inspired Villages that are integral as we enter our next phase of growth and continue to scale at pace. The creation of the roles demonstrates both our desire to secure the best sites and deliver excellence across our entire estates portfolio and our unwavering commitment to our customers, who will be at the heart of every decision we make.”
“Neal and James are both passionate and committed members of our team, who have played a huge part in our success to date and know our industry inside out. We are confident that they will continue to lead their teams and the support the wider business strategy to deliver communities of happy customers, living the best years of their life.”
Established in 2017, Inspired Villages is an award-winning operator and developer of later living communities in suburban and rural locations across the UK. It is backed by a joint venture partnership between Legal & General and NatWest Group Pension Fund.
