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Shelter Chief Executive Polly Neate to step down in March 2025

Posted 02 Oct 2024

Polly Neate CBE has announced she will be leaving her role as Chief Executive of the leading housing and homelessness charity Shelter, at the end of March 2025, after more than seven years in post.  

Under Polly’s leadership, Shelter has successfully campaigned for changes to tackle the housing emergency, including new laws to improve conditions in social housing, the strengthening of renters’ rights, and the prioritisation of building new social homes on the political and public agenda. The charity has also helped millions of people facing homelessness and poor housing through its face-to-face advocacy, telephone and online advice services, and legal support.  

Polly was awarded the CBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2020 for services to tackling homelessness. In 2022 she was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Bristol and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.  

In sharing the decision with Shelter’s board of trustees, staff and partners, Polly explained the personal reasons for her decision, including her desire to pursue new challenges, and her belief that now is an optimal moment in Shelter’s ten-year strategy cycle and the external campaigning environment to transition to new leadership.  

Polly Neate CBE, said: “I joined Shelter because I know that an end to homelessness and housing insecurity in this country is not a wild fantasy – it is an achievable reality.  

“I feel immensely proud of how Shelter has led the pursuit of that goal over the last seven years. Deciding to leave has been an incredibly difficult decision, but I know the time is right, both personally and for the organisation. 

“I’ll forever be grateful to the incredible colleagues, volunteers and supporters who have enabled us to achieve so much in my time here. With their passion and focus, I know Shelter will continue to draw public and political attention to the housing emergency, champion the building of more social homes as the only answer to that emergency, and fight to defend the right to a safe home for everyone.  

“When we do finally have a country where homelessness is a thing of the past and everyone can afford a decent place to live, every one of those Shelter employees, volunteers and supporters will have been instrumental in that achievement.” 

Helen Baker, Chair of Shelter’s Board of Trustees, said: “On behalf of Shelter’s Board and staff, I’d like to express our deepest thanks to Polly for everything she has achieved over the last seven years. Her impact on Shelter and the wider housing and charity sectors is both incalculable and inspirational. 

“Under her leadership, Shelter has truly shifted the public discourse on housing, driving a much fuller understanding of the housing emergency, its causes and solutions, to the top of the political agenda.  

“Polly is a born change-maker and an indefatigable force for social justice. We wish her all the very best at wherever she chooses to take that passion and leadership next”. 

The process of recruiting Polly’s successor is now under way. In the event of a gap between Polly’s departure and a new Chief Executive starting, Shelter’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Gutteridge will serve as interim Chief Executive with support from Shelter’s Executive Leadership Team.  

Polly will continue to sit on the boards of both the Young Women’s Trust and Women in Sport, and as a non-executive director of Wessex Local Medical Committees. She is currently exploring opportunities before deciding what her next challenge will be.