Fabrick Board Members

Bob Brady (Chair)

Since retiring as the Senior Youth and Community officer working in East Middlesbrough Bob went on to retire from Middlesbrough after being a member of the Council for 33 years.
During that time he held various positions including Chair of Housing for 16 years, chair of various scrutiny boards and finally serving as the appointed deputy to the elected Mayor of Middlesbrough for five years.
He was very active on the national and regional scene being chair of the National Housing & Town Planning Council, the Housing Centre Trust as well the Regional Assembly and North East Association of Councils.
He chaired the Shadow Board of Erimus Housing and was elected chair of the board on the creation of that company.  On the formation of the Fabrick Housing Group he was elected chair and continues in that post to date.

Barry Keane (Vice Chair)

Barry is Vice Chair of Fabrick Housing Group and is also a board member for Tees Valley Housing, having been a previous Chair. Barry was educated at Grangefield Grammar School, Stockton and at Cambridge University.  He spent 24 years in the Probation Service and since then has been a drama teacher and theatre director but is now retired.   Barry has been involved in social housing for 30 years.

Mike Carr

Michael has lived and worked in Middlesbrough all his life and has recently retired from teaching. He has been involved in local government for many years and has experience on public bodies at local and national level. He is keen to ensure that Fabrick Housing Group contributes to the regeneration and renewal of homes, the environment and the community in the Tees Valley and in the north east.

John Foster

John is a former board member of the Housing Corporation, former board member of the Audit Commission and former Chief Executive at Middlesbrough Council but is now retired.

John has been a board member with Tees Valley Housing for a number of years and is currently Vice Chair. John is Chair of Fabrick Housing Group’s Audit Committee.

Brian Kelly

Brian is a retired housing professional and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing. Brian is married with four sons and includes watercolour painting and supporting Newcastle United FC as hobbies. He also chairs the board of governors at his youngest son’s school. He is particularly interested in the provision of new homes and is Chair of Optimus Homes, the new property development subsidiary of Erimus Housing.

Stephen Merckx

Stephen is a chartered engineer who worked in a variety of roles in ICI. He is currently a self employed career consultant, is involved in voluntary work and otherwise enjoys walking and cycling between his duties as a grandparent.

David Murtagh

David is a chartered accountant and currently works as a finance director for a major multinational manufacturing company based in the region. After two years serving on the Erimus Board he joined the Fabrick Board earlier this year.

Outside work his main passion is sport, particularly football. In addition he retains a close interest in current affairs especially with regard to international relations.

Paul Marriott

Paul joined Depaul UK in 2003 as North East Regional Manager and became Chief Executive in 2004.  A graduate of Durham University, Paul has over 20 years management experience in the voluntary and public sectors, including work for Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service and the National Lottery Charities Board (now Big Lottery Fund).  He became a graduate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in 1996, a graduate of Common Purpose in 1997 and a Chartered Director in 2009.