Thank you, Pauline

Posted on 8 September 2026

As Pauline Ford steps down from her role as Chair of the Board, we take a moment to recognise and celebrate her outstanding contribution to our organisation. Through her leadership, guidance and commitment, Pauline has helped shape our direction and supported our growth during a significant period in our journey. In the article below, our CEO, Neil Blanchard, reflects on Pauline’s impact and offers a personal tribute to her years of service.

As Pauline Ford prepares to step down as Chair of Southdown’s Board on 16 September, after seven years with Southdown – including four as Chair – I’ve found myself reflecting on what she has brought to the organisation, but also what I’ve personally learnt from working alongside her. It’s difficult to sum up seven years in one article. There have been new strategies, difficult decisions, plenty of Board meetings and probably more papers than either of us would care to count. But when I think about Pauline’s contribution, I don’t immediately think about any of those things. I think about relationships, conversations, challenge, and trust.

More than good governance

Pauline joined Southdown with a huge amount of experience, particularly from housing and from working with other Boards, and she brought all of that knowledge to her role. But one thing I’ve learnt from Pauline is that good governance isn’t about the mechanics of governance. Of course, papers, assurance, risk, and good decision-making all matter. But underneath all of that are people. Pauline has worked hard to strengthen the relationship between our Board and C-Suite and to create opportunities for people to get to know one another beyond the formal Board meetings.

That might sound like a small thing, but it makes an enormous difference. So much of what we deal with at Southdown isn’t straight forward. We’re often trying to make difficult decisions with imperfect information, balancing different perspectives, and working out what the right thing to do is. You need trust to have those conversations properly. Pauline has helped create an environment where it’s okay to explore something before we have the answer, to disagree respectfully and to change our minds. I think our decisions are better because of it.

Having someone you can think out loud with

I’ve been able to arrive with a half-formed idea, a difficult problem or sometimes simply a sense that something isn’t quite right and talk it through without feeling that I’m expected to already know the answer. She listens, asks questions, and challenges me. Sometimes I leave those conversations with an answer. Sometimes I leave with even more questions – which I suspect Pauline would argue is the point!

And she’s certainly never been afraid to tell me when it’s time to stop talking. In fact, Pauline has always been very conscious that the Board needs to hear from the whole leadership team, not just the Chief Executive. There have been occasions when a look across the table has been enough for me to realise that somebody else should probably answer the question. She was usually right.

We haven’t always agreed

I also don’t want to give the impression that a good Chair and Chief Executive relationship means agreeing with each other all the time. We haven’t. There have been times when Pauline and I have seen things quite differently. There have also been occasions when one or both of us could have handled something better. What matters is what happens next. We’ve always been able to come back together, talk honestly about what happened, understand each other’s perspective and move forward.

Over time, you also learn the small things. We’ve both learnt, for example, that there are moments when another email definitely isn’t the answer and it’s much better just to pick up the phone. Those experiences have strengthened rather than weakened our relationship because underneath them has always been trust, mutual respect and a shared desire to do what is right for Southdown. And, importantly, we’ve laughed a lot along the way.

Handing on the baton

Pauline and I have talked about stewardship. None of us owns Southdown, we are just custodians. Whether you’re Chair, Chief Executive, a Board member or part of our leadership team, you’re looking after the organisation for a period of time before eventually handing it on to somebody else. I like that way of thinking about leadership. Our responsibility is to leave Southdown in a better position than we found it.

As Pauline hands on the baton, I hope she feels enormously proud of doing exactly that. We have a new strategy, greater clarity about our ambitions and appetite for risk, a strong Board and C-Suite relationship, and a growing confidence to be bolder about Southdown’s future.

Pauline has also been a fantastic ambassador for Southdown. Through her networks and relationships, she has helped raise our profile well beyond Sussex and has always been generous in advocating for the organisation and the work our colleagues do.

And finally…

There’s one last thing I want to say, and perhaps it’s the most personal. I’m a better Chief Executive for having worked with Pauline.

I’ve been doing this job for a long time, but one thing I strongly believe is that none of us ever finishes learning. The moment you think you have all the answers is probably the moment you need someone to challenge you most. Pauline has challenged me, supported me, made me think differently and given me somewhere safe to say, on more than one occasion, “What on earth are we going to do about this?” Then, usually, we’ve worked it out together.

When Pauline and I spoke recently, I said that she has brought out the best in me. Having reflected on it, I can’t think of a better way to describe what I’ve valued about our relationship.

So, Pauline, thank you. Thank you for your leadership, wisdom, honesty, and challenge. Thank you for your humour and friendship. And thank you for everything you have given to Southdown and to me personally. I know you’ll be watching Southdown from the sidelines, and I hope you do so with enormous pride. You’ve played an important part in getting us here.

Pauline’s note to Southdown

Pauline shared, “It has been a real privilege to work alongside such a dedicated team of colleagues across Southdown over the last seven years. 

“I particularly recall the difficult days during the covid pandemic when we all found it hard to believe we would ever get back to being able to do all the things that enrich life and return to the freedom that we take for granted. Due to dedication and hard work of all teams, we navigated a way through. Life has moved on positively and so has Southdown, which is well placed to deliver even more for communities across Sussex.  It will be hard to leave but I will watch with interest and pride – and wish Southdown every success for the future.”