Northern Ireland housing executive board member appointments

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has appointed Mrs Jacqueline Dixon and Mr Niall Sheridan as Members of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) Board with effect from 1 June 2025 until 31 May 2030.

The NIHE was established by the Housing Executive Act (NI) 1971. It is the Strategic Housing Authority for Northern Ireland, and a public landlord at scale, with an annual budget of approximately £1.2bn, providing a range of public services and around 83,000 homes.

Notes to editors: 

1. NIHE Board Members receive remuneration of £7,567 per annum for a minimum of one day per month.
2. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland's (CPA NI) Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, CPA NI requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Any relevant details are provided in the below biography.
3. Biographical details:

• Mrs Jacqueline Dixon was the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council from 2015 until her retirement in 2023. In this role, she was responsible for the corporate governance arrangements of the Council, and for progressing key financial management and budgeting decisions, including obtaining maximum benefits of the Belfast City Region Deal. She led on a range of key strategic objectives for the Council, with a focus on putting the customer first. She also brings a range of partnership and collaborative working skills to the Board. She has had no political activity within the last five years and holds no other public appointments at present.
• Mr Niall Sheridan is a career housing professional with over 37 years' experience within the social housing sector across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Most recently he was the Group Director of Development & Asset Management at Choice Housing Ireland ltd. He brings experience of strategic and operational delivery of capital development and asset management programmes to the Board. He also has a range of governance experience garnered from a number of non-executive director roles on voluntary boards.He has had no political activity within the last five years and holds no other public appointments.