L&Q finance director to step down

Waqar Ahmed is stepping down as L&Q’s executive group director for finance before the end of the current financial year. Ahmed will continue to work with L&Q on a project basis, as an adviser exploring opportunities to facilitate increased investment in affordable housing. Waqar joined L&Q as finance manager in 1997. He became the director for treasury and investment in 2005 and was appointed as finance director in 2008. Ahmed said: “It has been a great privilege to spend three decades working for an organisation that has always had social purpose at its heart and puts residents and communities first. “I have worked with incredible people over the years, and I know the current team has the talent, ambition and determination to drive L&Q forward and grapple the housing crisis head-on. “I shall be watching their continued progress with pride and wish them every success as L&Q continues to use its financial strength to tackle the challenges and grasp the opportunities ahead.” L&Q chief executive Fiona Fletcher-Smith said: “Waqar has always cared deeply about social housing, and over the past 27 years he has made an immeasurable contribution to the sector. Most people will know him as L&Q’s financial figurehead, but he has always been happy to share his time and expertise with other like-minded organisations, as demonstrated by his board roles with Crisis and the National Housing Federation. “He has been central to the growth of L&Q over the past three decades, and his legacy can be seen in both the organisation that we are today, and the formidable finance team he has led and nurtured which will now take forward his work.”