David Armes
- Chairman for Longhurst Group Board
- Chairman of Keystone Developments
- Retired Commercial Manager - East Midlands Electricity
Member Elected
March 2000
Currently
Governor of Kings Grammar School Grantham
David is on the Advisory Council of the University of Evansville in Indiana,
(which has a campus based in Harlaxton, near Grantham)
Chartered Electrical Engineer
Member of Institute of Marketing
Previous Public Appointments
1987-1997 (retirement) Commercial Manager of East Midlands Electricity
Past Member of Institute of Electrical Engineers
Qualifications
HND in Electrical Engineering
Passed IEE Exam
As the Chair of the Longhurst Group Board, David guides and governs the company with the help of his fellow board members and the senior management team. His business connections and experience working with the media have made his work with East Midlands Electricity highly valuable. A self-proclaimed people person, David shares the ambition of seeing Longhurst Group grow, as well as helping individuals to achieve their potential.
Following his retirement, David wanted to put his experience to good use, and with his belief in the crucial role that housing plays within a community, chose to become a board member for a housing association. He already knew the fundamentals of the sector having worked with Longhurst in 1970 and from his experience marketing to domestic, industrial and commercial customers, whilst at East Midlands Electricity.
Equipped with the skills he has gained from meeting dignitaries, local councilors, and even royals (meeting Prince Philip at St James’ Palace after the company sponsored the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is a particular highlight), David has found it very rewarding to have worked with and led the Board through a number of challenging periods. Since joining, he has shown strong leadership, sharing his marketing expertise and experience in the field. He is proactive in helping the company to continually improve their services and when he meets residents at opening ceremonies and special events, he is always keen to discuss their experience as a Longhurst customer and how the service can be improved.
During the time that David has been involved in the housing sector, he has been surprised by how many Housing Ministers do not fully understand the situation within the sector. Because of this, he feels that housing companies, especially the ones who provide affordable housing, constantly fight a losing battle in regard to finance, regulation and common sense. In the future, David believes that fully understanding and implementing ‘Localism’ will be a struggle. How Local Authorities transfer power from central to local government will need to be closely observed with sound Business Plans created that compliment new legislation.
Having worked and lived in the Grantham area for some time, David likes to have an active role within the community. As well as official roles such as being a governor for Kings Grammar School, he also enjoys social aspects of local life and is a member of the Grantham Rotary Club and the Grantham 40+ Club. His love for travelling has taken him to many places, but he has a particular love of Italy because of its grand architecture and beautiful landscapes.