Jim Ripley says farewell to Phoenix

After 14 years as Phoenix's Chief Executive, today (14 February 2022), we say farewell to Jim Ripley. On his last day, Jim reflects on his time as Pheonix's CEO below.

It’s been an honour and a pleasure to serve as Phoenix’s Chief Executive for the past 14 years. I’ve seen Phoenix go from strength-to-strength during my tenure, but here are my top five favourite moments:

- Back in 2013, we opened our brand new HQ: The Green Man which is home to our offices, community hub, café, training kitchen, event space and Credit Union branch.

- In 2014, we set up our‘school of social housing’, the Phoenix Academy, which offers local residents and Phoenix staff the opportunity to gain a qualification in social housing. Since then, over 250 people have graduated from the academy!

- In April 2015, we launched the Phoenix Repairs Service. Previously our repairs service had been outsourced butfollowing feedback from residents, we created the ‘in-house’ service with the aim of offering greater flexibility and better value for money.

- I’m very proud for Phoenix to be acknowledged as one ofthe UK’s best employers by achieving Investors in People Gold Award in 2017 and again in 2020. The accreditation highlights that we are one of the UK’s best employers.

- After almost 2 years of building restoration, the Fellowship Inn had its grand re-opening in 2019 as a pub, cinema and community hub. We’re currently in discussions with a number of companies to bring it back into use.

Good luck, Jim. We wish you all the best!