The Challenge
The appointment came at an important point in Red Kite's journey. Peter Cogan had recently joined the organisation as Chief Executive, taking on his first Chief Executive position. As he shaped his leadership team, he identified the need for dedicated executive ownership of people, culture, communications and transformation.
The challenge was not replacing an existing leader. This was the creation of an entirely new executive role with responsibility for building an inclusive, high-performance culture while helping the organisation develop the systems, capability and behaviours needed to deliver its future ambitions.
With no predecessor in post and no established benchmark for success, Red Kite needed a search partner capable of helping define the role, test the market and identify a leader who could become a trusted member of a newly evolving executive team.
The Solution
Neemar Search worked closely with Peter Cogan and key stakeholders to understand both the immediate requirements of the role and the broader organisational objectives behind its creation.
Rather than focusing solely on traditional HR leadership profiles, the search was designed around Red Kite's long-term ambitions. The successful candidate needed to bring together expertise across organisational culture, people strategy, communications and transformation, while operating as a strategic executive partner to a newly appointed Chief Executive.
Through detailed stakeholder engagement, market mapping and targeted search activity, Neemar identified leaders capable of balancing cultural development with practical organisational change. Particular focus was placed on candidates who had successfully led business improvement programmes, developed people strategies and supported organisations through periods of growth and evolution.
Throughout the process, Neemar provided market insight, challenge and guidance, helping shape the brief and ensuring stakeholders remained aligned on the qualities required for success.
Following a comprehensive search process, Red Kite appointed Unji Mathur as its first Chief People & Transformation Officer.
The Outcome
The appointment of Unji Mathur provided Red Kite with dedicated executive leadership across people and culture, communications and transformation.
By creating a single portfolio focused on organisational effectiveness, Red Kite established greater alignment between its people strategy and wider business objectives. The role was designed to help create an inclusive and high-performing culture while supporting continuous improvement, digital capability and organisational readiness.
For Peter Cogan, the appointment added a key strategic partner to the Executive Leadership Team at an important stage of organisational development. For Red Kite, it created executive capacity focused on ensuring culture, capability and transformation remain closely connected.
The successful appointment also demonstrated the organisation's commitment to investing in leadership infrastructure that supports both colleague experience and long-term organisational performance.
The Impact
The creation of Red Kite's first Chief People & Transformation Officer was about more than adding another executive role.
The appointment established leadership accountability for culture, capability and transformation at Executive Team level, ensuring these priorities receive focused strategic attention. It also strengthened the leadership platform around a newly appointed Chief Executive, creating the capacity needed to support organisational development over the coming years.
By investing in a role designed to connect people, performance and transformation, Red Kite positioned itself to build organisational capability while maintaining its commitment to delivering excellent outcomes for tenants and communities.
Candidate Testimonial
"I would like to thank Tom Neely, Eliot Jeffries and the team at Neemar Search for the care, professionalism and support they provided throughout my recruitment and appointment process.
What stood out to me was the genuinely human approach they brought to executive recruitment. I was not actively looking for a new role when the opportunity first came to me, but through my conversations with Eliot and Tom I began to understand more about the organisation, its culture, the scale of the challenge and the opportunity to make a real difference. Their insight, honesty and encouragement helped me quickly realise that this was not only an exciting opportunity, but the perfect role for me.
Throughout the process, I felt informed, supported and well prepared. Tom was brilliant at keeping in touch, responding to my questions and providing thoughtful guidance at each stage. Both Tom and Eliot were responsive, knowledgeable and generous with their time.
I am now absolutely thrilled to have secured what genuinely feels like my dream role. I am very grateful to Neemar Search for the part they played in helping me get there, and I would happily recommend them to both organisations seeking senior leaders and individuals considering their next executive move".
Unji Mathur, ED of Resources
Client Testimonial
"The recent Executive Recruitment campaign that Red Kite partnered with Neemar on clearly demonstrated why they have built such a strong reputation within the sector. From the outset, the process was thoughtful, well-managed and highly professional, with a strong understanding of both the technical requirements of the role and the broader organisational fit we were seeking.
The campaign was delivered with pace, transparency and attention to detail throughout. Communication was clear and consistent, candidate engagement was of a high quality, and the market insight provided gave us confidence at every stage of the process.
What stood out most was Neemar’s ability to combine professionalism with a genuinely collaborative approach. The engagement never felt transactional; rather, it reflected a true partnership focused on achieving the right long-term outcome for the organisation.
Overall, the process was straightforward, well organised and extremely positive from start to finish. We would have no hesitation in working with the Neemar team again on future executive appointments".
Peter Cogan, Chief Executive, Red Kite Community Housing
