Mike Hardy
Mike began working in the housing sector after his graduation
from Sheffield University in 1980. Whilst waiting for a Housing
Officer post to become available with Bolton Metropolitan Borough
Council, he took up their offer of a repairs clerk role, which came
with the opportunity to pursue a career in housing by studying for
the Institute of Housing professional qualification.
Having obtained the Professional Qualification of the Chartered
Institute of Housing in 1984 and becoming an elected member of the
CIH in the same year, he went on to gain further academic
recognition which he is extremely proud of. Firstly, when he
obtained his professional qualification, he won the Housing
Corporation prize for best third year exam results. Secondly, and
more importantly to him, he obtained his MBA with a distinction
from the University of Nottingham Business School in 1999.
Mike took up the position of Housing Manager at Longhurst in
1986 and worked his way up through a variety of roles, becoming
familiar with each area of housing and developing a strong
intuition for quick, strategic business planning. He was appointed
as Managing Director in 2000 in preparation for the formation of
the new group structure and took over full operational control of
Longhurst Housing Association in February 2001.
In 2009, he led the amalgamation of Longhurst Homes and Havelok
Homes into L&H Homes. Working with the company for so long has
been extremely rewarding for Mike. He is very proud of the people
he works with, many of whom he has known for years, as they
demonstrate a huge commitment to what L&H Homes and the group
are about. He is a decisive leader who always aims for progress and
works effectively with the Boards of both L&H Homes and
Longhurst Group as well as the other members of the Executive Team
on the strategic direction of the group.
Mike enjoys holidaying in the USA or Canada mainly for the
locations and views on offer, be they man-made or natural. He is
also a recent convert to skiing. When he isn’t busy travelling, he
practices Kung Fu and enjoys listening to heavy metal and rock or
watching a good horror movie.