Our Chair and Vice-Chair

Fiona Fletcher-Smith - Chair

Fiona was appointed as L&Q’s Chief Executive in September 2020. A chartered surveyor, with almost 30 years of experience in the housing sector, Fiona has worked in a variety of voluntary and public sector roles including advising homeless people in Dublin, housing management, development and regeneration, strategy and policy development.

Fiona was previously L&Q’s Director of Development and Sales, spearheading a £5.1 billion development programme. Whilst in this role, Fiona led our development and strategic land programmes, including landmark projects such as the 10,800-home Barking Riverside development. She also oversaw the group’s expansion beyond the South East and delivered change programmes to improve both the efficiency and diversity of our Development and Sales function.

Prior to joining L&Q, Fiona was Executive Director for Development, Enterprise and Environment at the Greater London Authority (GLA). As part of their senior management team, Fiona was responsible for overseeing the delivery and implementation of key strategies such as the London Plan and overseeing the operation of the Mayor’s powers in relation to significant planning applications in the capital.

Fiona is the current chair of trustees at the Centre for London, helping the capital’s think tank to meet their charitable objectives.

Fiona took over as Chair of the G15 in June 2023.

Ian McDermott - Vice-Chair

Ian has over 30 years of experience in the housing sector. He began his housing career at Southwark Council. He later joined Waltham Forest where he held several resident facing roles. Ian went on to be Chief Executive for Shaftsbury Housing Association which joined the Sanctuary Housing Group where he remained for nine years leaving as Chief Operating Officer. Ian became Chief Executive at Aldwyck Housing Group and then Catalyst before joining Peabody as CEO in October 2021.

Trained as a chartered surveyor and an Alumni of Harvard Business School, Ian now sits as a member of the CIH Audit and Risk Committee. He co-chairs the Quality and Trust Steering Group which is committed to improving the quality of social housing. The group’s role has been to guide, challenge and support the development of an action plan for the sector to implement the Better Social Housing Review’s seven recommendations.

Ian was born in Runcorn and grew up in the North West. He is a keen musician, has run many marathons and is a passionate Everton supporter. He became Vice-Chair of the G15 group of housing associations in June 2023.