TopHat has announced the appointment of Carl Leaver as Chairman and James Matthews and Kate Davies as Non-Executive Directors. Founded in early 2016, TopHat commenced production in early 2018 at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in South Derbyshire and has been a pioneer in developing industry-leading technology and manufacturing processes that will shape the UK's digital construction sector. Earlier this year, TopHat announced a five-year contract that will see TopHat work with BoKlok UK to manufacture two and three-bedroom houses.
Carl Leaver has a strong track record of value creation as both CEO and Chairman, gained across industry sectors ranging from leisure to telecommunications. Most recently, Carl was Chairman of eir (formerly Eircom Ireland) and Executive Deputy Chairman of Ladbrokes Coral Group plc. Carl is also Chairman of Lebara. Carl Leaver said: "I am very excited to have joined TopHat as Chairman to help the business achieve its mission of transforming housebuilding in the UK through the application of technology and leading-edge production capability. TopHat's platform underpins the quality of its product while at the same time reducing production costs to among the lowest in the industry."
James Matthews has been at the heart of the scaling of Ocado's technology platform over the past fifteen years. As CEO of Ocado Technology he leads a team of 2,000 technologists across four countries, building Ocado Smart Platform for international clients and providing technology services to the rest of Ocado Group. James Matthews, said: "In TopHat I see a great opportunity to drive the adoption of technology and automated manufacturing in an industry that has historically lagged others in this regard"
Kate Davies has been the Chief Executive of Britain's fourth largest housing association, Notting Hill Genesis (and previously Notting Hill Housing Trust) since 2004, growing it from a 16,000 unit organisation to one with over 64,000 homes in London and the southeast. She has also worked in the private sector, local government and the NHS. Kate Davies said: "Modular house-building will be central to addressing the UK's housing crisis by providing modern, desirable and connected housing far more quickly than traditional methods. TopHat is in a strong position to lead the sector. Not only does its technology and manufacturing platform enable TopHat to produce homes of outstanding quality at low cost, but also its approach to design reshapes perceptions of what modular homes look like and feel like to live in."
Source: www.tophat.io
