Dot Dot Dot’s new CEO

Dot Dot Dot has had an amazing four years. Back in 2011, we were nothing but an idea and an ambition to get empty buildings into use to house people who wanted to do brilliant voluntary work. Since then, we have grown to house hundreds of people in all compass points of London, working with some of Britain’s biggest property-owners and expanding into south-eastern England. We have enabled tens of thousands of hours of voluntary work – our guardians gave almost 20,000 hours to around 200 charities last year, and this year they’ll give even more. We are now a solid, sustainable organisation employing a team of twelve. Last year we were named Social Enterprise of the Year by Ben and Jerry’s and Ashoka, and as one of Britain’s 50 New Radicals by Nesta and the Observer.

And we’re not stopping here. We’ve now proven that our approach works brilliantly for landlords, guardians and neighbourhoods, and that there are many people – both property-owners and home-seekers – who strongly prefer our approach to the conventional solutions. We want to continue to grow in order to satisfy this demand, to enable even more volunteering, and to have a voice in the debate about the future of housing, volunteering and social enterprise in Britain.

To fulfil our ambition, we need to develop our leadership structure. Since our launch, we have been run by Katharine Hibbert, who has been founder, director and CEO. This suited us when we were a new organisation, but now these roles need to change in line with our growth. So Peter Brown, who joined Dot Dot Dot as Head of Business Development in April 2014, is stepping up to become CEO, while Katharine focusses on her role as director.

Dot Dot Dot is incredibly fortunate to have Peter already within the organisation to take on this role. His ability and his commitment to the difference Dot Dot Dot is trying to make are already proven. He has made a huge contribution since he joined, improving the way we deliver our service and winning substantial volumes of new work. He has more than a decade’s experience in housing, having joined us from Tower Hamlets Homes, where he led the innovation team. And he is a committed volunteer – a trustee of two charities, volunteering with people in custody and helping to organise Crisis’ Christmas centres for homeless people.

In his new role, Peter will lead the team to deliver our existing work and our plans for growth. He will make sure that Dot Dot Dot continues to offer the best possible service to all property-owners and guardians, now and in the future, whilst maximising our social impact.

Meanwhile, Katharine will lead on our longer-term strategy and overarching mission, looking for ways to develop and innovate, and making sure that we stay true to our goals and values as we grow. Stepping back from day-to-day management will also allow her to make a greater contribution to the wider debates that relate to Dot Dot Dot’s work.

This combination of roles will let Dot Dot Dot keep a rock-solid focus on delivering a brilliant service, whilst also letting us keep our eyes on the horizon, making sure that we are taking every opportunity we can to make a difference.

All of us at Dot Dot Dot are really excited about what the future holds. Our new leadership structure is the next step in establishing our position as an outstanding social enterprise and as a leading property guardian company. We’d like to thank everyone who’s worked with us, supported us and cheered us on over the past four years, and we look forward to the next phase of Dot Dot Dot’s growth.