Afzal Ismail

Afzal is a chartered certified accountant (FCCA) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIHCM). He holds an honours degree in Mathematics and is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Auditors (CMIIA). Afzal joined Orbit when it had circa 20,000 homes and has played a pivotal role in Orbit’s merger and acquisition successes which has seen Orbit grow to 46,500 homes today.

Afzal leads on the formation and delivery of Orbit’s IT and digital journey including the introduction of multi-channels for customer transactions and being the lead executive sponsor for the implementation of Microsoft’s ERP D365 platform. In addition, on behalf of the Executive Team, Afzal chairs and leads two strategic Steering Groups: Orbit’s Change Management Programme Delivery and the Sustainability Steering Group, to ensure delivery of our Sustainability Strategy and commitments. He also leads on Orbit’s engagement with the Regulator of Social Housing on regulatory activities. Afzal has considerable experience at Board level as a Non-Executive Director (NHS and housing sector) as well as chairing Audit Committees in his NED roles.

Afzal’s strategic role at Orbit covers accountability and leadership of a number of corporate support services. These include reporting on Group performance to the Group Board, IT services including Cyber security and GDPR compliance, Risk & Regulatory compliance including audit and H&S assurance, as well as ensuring a robust policy environment to support delivery of front-line services.