Making a Merger a Success with Mark Pearson

The HIP: The Housing Industry Podcast

The number of mergers in the housing industry has been growing in recent years. But with mergers can come challenges. Mark Pearson, Managing Director at 54North Homes joins us this week to speak about his journey into housing, and the story of 54North Homes so far.
Mark took up the MD role at 54North around 9 months ago and now holds 26 years of experience in the sector. Mark shares what he’s witnessed of how the housing landscape has changed in that time.
Mark oversaw a massive period of transformational change during his time with Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association before the organisation merged with York Housing Association under the Karbon Homes banner towards the end of 2022.
Mark shares with us how he overcame the challenges he’s faced so far. We dive deep into the merger and learn about how Mark and his team prioritised customer-focused aspects whilst ensuring that culture and staff engagement doesn’t fall by the wayside.
Mark shares with us the benefits that have come from the merger and how they’ve retained autonomy and identity. Finally, we touch on the challenges that Mark expects to see in the near future.
In this episode, we cover:

• Mark’s journey into the housing sector.
• What’s changed in the housing landscape in the last 26 years?
• Advice on staying calm in challenging periods and communicating in a way
  that doesn’t cause panic.
• How to prioritise successfully.
• How to ensure that the best of both worlds are retained as a result of a
  merger.
• Ensuring that colleagues are supported throughout periods of change within
  an organisation.
• The meaning behind the name ‘54North’.
• What near-future challenges for 54North does Mark envision?
• How can we attract new talent to the sector?