Zen Board
Lesley Seary CBE
Independent Non-Executive Chair
Lesley brings to the board her significant experience of the public sector, having a 30-year public sector career, ending with eight years as the Chief Executive of Islington Council. Throughout her career, Lesley has worked across a range of services, including housing, and has a thorough understanding of community engagement and local partnerships.
Lesley also holds Board positions at BHRUT, Barts Health, and Redbridge Institute for Adult Education.
Owen Ingram
Independent Non-Executive Director
Owen joined the Zen Housing Board as an independent non-executive director in February 2025. He is a highly experienced Chair and Non-Executive Director of registered housing providers and health authorities. He has worked in housing, health care and mental health services.
As a highly respected interim Chief Executive he has been responsible for leading major change in governance, executive structures and bringing about organisational learning.
Owen is passionate about excellence in customer services, providing safe, quality homes for residents and creating positive working environments for staff. He enjoys working with people who share his values. Owen has been appointed by and worked with all the housing regulators in the UK.
Ellison Riddle
Non-Executive Director
Ellison has served in CFO and COO roles responsible for the financial, regulatory, reporting, operational and risk aspects of real estate businesses.
Ellison is an FCA authorised person and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, having trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ellison also chairs the Resources and Finance Committee in his position as a school governor.
Sergey Pichugin
Executive Director
Sergey joined the Zen Housing Board as an executive director in May 2025. Sergey began his career in affordable housing over seven years ago at Gresham House, consistently enhancing his expertise in large-scale residential portfolio management. At Gresham, he managed a c.2,200-home senior living PRS portfolio, improving operational efficiency and portfolio performance. Additionally, he oversaw the operational management of two Registered Providers, ReSI Homes and ReSI Housing, handling c.1,500 Shared Ownership homes and a further pipeline of c.1,000 homes.
Sergey previously served as a non-executive director on the board at Zen Housing and joined the ZLML management team in August 2023.
Helen Evans
Independent Non-Executive Director
Helen brings a wealth of experience to Zen’s Board, having previously served as Deputy CEO of Sovereign Network Group and CEO of Network Homes. Earlier in her career, she worked with Brent Council, first as Director of Housing Management and later as CEO of their management company, where she oversaw 13,500 homes.
She currently serves as a Board Member at Paradigm Housing Association and as Deputy Chair and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at the South London and Maudsley Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.