Unite Students has announced that its chief executive Richard Smith will step down from his role with effect from 31 December 2023.
Smith, who has been with Unite for 13 years and became CEO in 2016, will remain an adviser to the business until the end of September next year to ensure a smooth handover to incoming CEO, Joe Lister. Lister, who is currently the company’s chief financial officer, has been with Unite for 22 years and will take on the CEO role from 1 January 2024.
Current group investment director Michael Burt will be promoted to chief financial officer effective from 1 January 2024 and Katherine Grafton, currently group finance director, will be promoted to deputy chief financial officer.
Richard Huntingford, chair of Unite, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Richard and acknowledge his significant achievements over the last eight years as CEO. He has been a driving force behind our successful strategy of aligning to the best universities where demand is highest, and building Unite into a purpose-led, responsible business. As a result, we have seen significant and stable growth and are today an established provider of choice for the UK higher education sector with over 60 valuable university partnerships.
“We have an exciting future ahead and I am confident under Joe’s leadership Unite is best placed to build on our successes to date and continue its leading role in increasing the delivery of much needed affordable student accommodation at a time when the supply demand imbalance has never been greater.”
Smith added: “It has been a privilege to lead Unite Students over the last eight years. I am proud that through our purpose of providing a home for success, hundreds of thousands of students have benefitted from the overall experience, value for money and extra support that our accommodation offers.
“With Unite in such a strong position, both financially and operationally, I felt now was the right time to step down and focus on my personal goal of helping improve access to education for young people. I would like to extend my thanks and best wishes to Joe and our excellent team who have worked so hard to get Unite to where it is today.”
Lister said: “Unite Students is posed to enter a significant period of opportunity, uniquely positioned to grow our platform and tackle the shortfall of suitable accommodation for students. I am hugely excited to be working with Mike and the wider Unite team. We are committed to providing more students with the quality, affordable accommodation they need through our pipeline of development and asset management projects and working collaboratively with university partners to unlock the potential of their campuses.”
