Board of Directors
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Chris Eccles AO
Chair | Non-Executive Director
Chris Eccles AO
Chair | Non-Executive Director
- Appointed Chair of Evolve Housing Group in November 2024
Chris joined the Evolve Housing Board in November 2023, following his involvement with the Evolve Housing Group since 2020, including as Deputy Chair of Evolve Housing Vic Limited (EHVL) and Member of the Transaction Review Committee.
His career spans a distinguished tenure in the public sector, including serving as Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria (2014-2020), Director-General of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet (2011-2014), and Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet (2009-2011). Chris was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for his outstanding contributions to public service, innovative policy development, and social reform.
Committee appointments:
- Finance, Risk & Audit Committee
- Governance, Nominations & People Committee
- Transaction Review Committee
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Dr Robert Lang
Non-Executive DIrector
Dr Robert Lang
Non-Executive DIrector
Robert brings to the Board a deep knowledge of and passion for Western Sydney, having previously held the roles of CEO of Parramatta City Council, CEO of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and CEO of Pacific Power. He currently holds a number of Board positions in the private sector, not for profits and government authorities and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Sydney School of Business.
His expertise includes property, urban planning & placemaking, transformational change, strategic repositioning, restructuring, corporate governance, strategy, finance, technology, risk management, operations and human resources. Robert is also the Chair of Ability Options, Chair of Defence Housing Australia and Director on Sydney Festival board. Robert is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia.
Committee appointments:
- Finance, Risk & Audit Committee
- Transaction Review Committee
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Kay Veitch
Non-Executive Director
Kay Veitch
Non-Executive Director
Kay brings extensive experience in executive leadership at Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia Airlines and GWA Group Limited. She is a former Director of CARE Australia and Local Land Services and former Chair of Keep Australia Beautiful NSW. Her current appointments include Director of ASPECT Studios, GNS Ltd and an independent committee member at APA. Kay’s key areas of expertise are organisational transformation, change leadership, commercial distribution and revenue management.
Committee appointments:
- Governance, Nominations & People Committee (Chair)
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Tim Regan
Non-Executive Director
Tim Regan
Non-Executive Director
Tim Regan is an experienced executive and non-executive director across listed, unlisted and not-for-profit companies, both growing and mature. He is interim Chief Executive Officer of Melanoma Institute Australia and former Chief Operating Officer of The George Institute for Global Health. Tim has extensive experience in the health, property and services industries, including his role as former COO of ASX-listed Mirvac Group, CEO of TJS Services, Commercial Manager at Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, and Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Tim has a range of commercial and not-for-profit Board positions that allow him to utilise his property, audit, project management, leadership and government relations experience. He is currently a National Treasurer of the Australia India Business Council and former Member of the State Management Committee of the Australia China Business Council NSW. Tim holds a Bachelor of Economics from University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Institute of Chartered Accountants and Australian Property Institute. He looks forward to mentoring opportunities within Evolve Housing.
Committee appointments:
- Finance, Risk & Audit Committee (Chair)
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Davina Rooney
Non-Executive Director
Davina Rooney
Non-Executive Director
A property professional with a passion for sustainability, suitability and energy for the built environment, Davina has led the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) since 2019. With 550-plus members with a combined value of $46 billion, Davina brings together practical knowledge, on-the-ground experience and a systematic approach to champion leadership in sustainable design and construction.
As a qualified engineer, Davina worked on large-scale construction projects in Sydney and London, and spent nearly a year building an award-winning school in the Himalayas. She devoted a decade to driving sustainability at one of Australia’s largest diversified property companies, Stockland, which culminated in Stockland’s recognition as the world’s most sustainable property company.
Davina is also on the Board of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council and has previously served on NSW & ACT Girl Guides. The property industry has recognised Davina’s leadership with multiple awards, including from the Property Council of Australia and the National Association of Women in Construction.
Committee appointments:
- Transaction Review Committee
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Tim Spencer
Non-Executive Director
Tim Spencer
Non-Executive Director
Tim is a property executive with over 25 years of experience across Australia and Asia, specialising in integrated precincts, masterplanned communities and sustainable development. As the Head of Development for Legacy Property, Tim continues his leadership in transformation of Sydney’s most forward-thinking urban precincts, extending his experience gained from over a decade shaping Norwest Business Park and championing innovation in health, wellbeing, sustainability, design and mixed-use place-making.Tim is known for driving complex, high-value projects that blend commercial rigour with long-term community and environmental benefits as well as advocating for industry reform. He serves on the Board of UDIA NSW, contributes to the Net Zero and Smart Cities working groups, and is a regular speaker on the intersection of ESG, housing policy, and capital markets.
He is widely respected as a creative and strategic thinker and pragmatic operator who blends design thinking with business innovation to deliver projects that leave a legacy.
Committee appointments:
- Finance, Risk & Audit Committee
- Governance, Nomination and People Committee
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Professor Andy Marks
Non-Executive Director
Professor Andy Marks
Non-Executive Director
Professor Andy Marks is a Vice-President at Western Sydney University leading major strategic initiatives with government, industry and the community. He has a PhD and first-class honours in political science and literature. He writes regularly for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph and is a panellist on ABC Sydney’s ‘political forum’.
Professor Marks is the Executive Director of the Centre for Western Sydney, a member of the Board of Evolve Housing, and a Trustee of the Royal Botanical Gardens and Domain Trust. He is a former Chair of Western Sydney Community Forum, an appointee to the Prime Minister’s Western Sydney Transport Infrastructure Advisory Panel and co-founder of the Launch Pad start-up incubator. Professor Marks was formerly a researcher in the social services sector, a Council member at the University of New England and an ARIA nominated musician.
Committee appointments:
- Governance, Nominations & People Committee
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Kate Melrose
Non-Executive Director
Kate Melrose
Non-Executive Director
A Non Executive Director, advisor and strategic consultant, Kate is committed to delivering profit and social impact through innovative housing solutions. Kate has 30 years’ experience in ASX listed and private property sectors. Kate has been at the forefront of the rapidly growing Land Lease housing sector in Australia delivering over $1bn of affordable lifestyle homes that saw Ingenia evolve as a leader in the land lease sector.
She is an experienced executive and spent 14 years with Lendlease in positions as development director, global strategic marketing manager, business strategy, product innovation and revenue, customer insights and market gap analysis. (Lendlease 14 years, Ingenia 11 years, Mark Moran Vaucluse, Greengate).
With clear strategic vision, strong business acumen and deep customer insight, Kate is experienced across large scale mixed-use master planned communities; social and economic development strategies; stakeholder management; integrated retirement and aged care; inner urban vertical retirement villages, and the rapidly growing innovative land lease lifestyle sector. As GM revenue/project sales, Kate has seen Ingenia, an ASX200 organisation grow from $0 Land Lease revenue to a $2bn market cap over the past 11 years proving a sustainable hybrid Build to rent/Build to Sell model for institutional capital providing long WALE annuity streams, resilient tenant customers and social impact via an innovative affordable housing model.
Committee appointments
- Transaction Review Committee (Chair)
Executive team
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Lyall Gorman
Group Chief Executive Officer
Lyall Gorman
Group Chief Executive Officer
Lyall Gorman is the Group CEO of Evolve Housing, one of Australia’s largest community housing providers, supporting more than 11,000 residents across 5,000 properties. He brings over 35 years of senior executive experience across the business, government, sport, and not-for-profit sectors, with a focus on purpose-driven leadership and strategic transformation.
At Evolve Housing, Lyall is focused on delivering quality housing outcomes, strengthening stakeholder partnerships, and enhancing the organisation’s impact through innovation, financial sustainability, and a people-first culture. He is passionate about building resilient communities and scaling housing solutions that respond to Australia’s growing affordability challenges.
Prior to joining Evolve Housing, Lyall held leadership roles across diverse sectors, including as Executive Director of an ASX-listed merchant bank and corporate advisory firm. In government and advocacy, he serves as Vice President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and recently concluded a five-year term as President of Business NSW.
Lyall holds a Master’s in Administration from the University of New South Wales and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His career is underpinned by a commitment to ethical leadership, collaboration, and driving social and economic outcomes at scale.
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Jitender Balani
Group General Manager Strategic Partnerships, Programs and Asset Management
Jitender Balani
Group General Manager Strategic Partnerships, Programs and Asset Management
Jitender is a dynamic leader of social housing and human services in both an operational and strategic context, with a proven track record in influencing and negotiating outcomes, building partnerships and delivering timely results. He holds an Executive Master of Public Administration, Bachelor of Building and tertiary qualifications in Civil Engineering.
He is able to effectively manage, inspire direction and purpose with a large, diverse group of internal and external stakeholders. He has over 30 years’ experience in a range of social housing management roles, both in Australia and overseas.
Prior to joining Evolve Housing, Jitender was responsible for managing Wentworth Community Housing and Community Housing (FACS) asset portfolio and asset system, including portfolio supply, developments, quality assurance and major asset improvement initiatives.
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Jo Henderson-Brooks
Group General Manager People, Culture and Corporate Services
Jo Henderson-Brooks
Group General Manager People, Culture and Corporate Services
Jo is a commercially astute and energetic executive leader with over 27 years of experience in and managing corporate services functions including Human Resources, Information Technology and Project Management. Jo’s career has focused on leading workforce solutions, deploying process and system solutions, people strategy, talent management and development and organisational structure design.
She is a subject matter expert in human capital change programs, enabling values driven culture and optimal productivity of workforces. She is passionate about continuous improvement, wellbeing services and providing value back to our community.
Jo’s passion in fostering an inclusive and high performing organisation was recognised with the organisation achieving the 2024 WSABE Employer of Choice award and the 2023 UDIA Diversity and Inclusion award. Â
Jo possesses a Bachelor Arts degree, majoring in Psychology and Diploma in Project Management and is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Australian Institute of Management.
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Jo Lang
Group General Manager Resident Services
Jo Lang
Group General Manager Resident Services
Jo Lang brings over 30 years of social housing knowledge and experience as an Executive and Leader working in the NSW Government and Community Housing sector.
She specialises in social policy, implementing large scale multiple projects and programs through building strategic partnerships and has a proven track record of leading high performing teams to operationalise strategic priorities.
Jo has worked with Evolve Housing since 2017 to achieve operational excellence and innovation to achieve positive social outcomes for our residents.
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Brett Manwaring
Group CFO & General Manager Corporate Finance
Brett Manwaring
Group CFO & General Manager Corporate Finance
Brett is an experienced Director and C-suite executive with a broad background across sectors including manufacturing, financial services, accounting, management consulting, government, sporting associations and not-for-profit organisations.
He brings deep expertise in financial risk, corporate finance, and strategic planning. He has a passion for helping organisations build sustainable business models that embrace people, culture, data, and technology — all underpinned by strong risk management.
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Melissa Scardino
Group General Manager Growth, Governance, Legal & CoSec
Melissa Scardino
Group General Manager Growth, Governance, Legal & CoSec
Melissa is an enthusiastic and experienced Executive, Board Director and admitted solicitor. As a leader with significant expertise in delivering on both the commercial and legal functions of a business, she is uniquely positioned to successfully lead both the Strategy, Growth & ESG functions and the Legal, Governance and Compliance functions of Evolve Housing. Melissa is the Group Company Secretary for the Evolve Housing Group.
Melissa has spent her career working in-house in development focused organisations such as Stockland and Challenger, in private practice as a lawyer, in agriculture and in housing departments throughout the NSW Government. Melissa’s wide experience spans housing, real estate, agriculture, property development and mergers and acquisitions. She is described as a people-focused leader, who prioritises the needs and well-being of her team, creating a positive and supportive work environment.
Melissa believes it is a fundamental human right to have a safe and clean home and has dedicated her career to ensuring that there is funding, frameworks and processes to enable housing growth, and support for Australia’s most vulnerable people.
Having a strong passion for community service, Melissa is a current Director of Gutherie House and previously Chaired the Board of the Aboriginal Women’s Children and Crisis Service.
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Charlie Souma
Group General Manager Affordable Housing Services
Charlie Souma
Group General Manager Affordable Housing Services
Charlie is a highly accomplished executive leader with over 20 years of experience in managing residential property portfolios in the private and not-for-profit sector. He has extensive experience in business development, driving growth, and leading  and mentoring high performing teams.
Charlie led the establishment of Evolve Housing’s profit-for-purpose real estate agency, EchoRealty, which specialises in affordable housing. Under his leadership EchoRealty now operates in Victoria, New South Wales and ACT managing affordable housing portfolios on behalf of local councils, NGO’s, institutional investors, developers and general investors.
