Stephen Howard

Stephen Howard joined Business in the Community (BITC) as Managing Director in September 2005. His appointment follows eight years as a supporter and national partner of BITC’s Business Action on Homelessness initiative. During this time he mentored business chiefs, providing consultancy on work placements, and chaired the London Steering Group to inspire and support new companies and their efforts to help some of the most disadvantaged groups in London.

Stephen brings a wealth of senior management expertise to BITC acquired through the corporate sector. After beginning his career as a practising lawyer and partner with Alder, Pollock & Sheehan Inc (Providence, USA), he was appointed General Counsel at Cookson America Inc in 1985. 

Thereafter, Stephen held a number of different roles in the Cookson Group PLC culminating in being appointed Group Chief Executive, a role he held between 1997 and 2004 when he led the company through organisational and financial restructuring seeing it turn around from loss to profit.

Between 2004 and 2005, Stephen was appointed Group Chief Executive of Novar PLC, the global manufacturing company, to lead on their strategy of simplifying the portfolio to realise value, and the return of that value to shareholders. Novar was successfully sold to Honeywell in 2005.

Stephen’s ongoing commitment to helping tackle homelessness on both a national and global scale has resulted in a non-executive directorship for Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, the charity with a mission to eliminate poverty housing. Other non-executive directorships include the International Community Church, Slough Estates PLC and Balfour Beatty plc.

Born in Massachusetts in 1953, Stephen has been resident in the UK for the past 17 years and holds dual American and British nationality. He has been married to Holly for 30 years and they have three sons. He lists his hobbies as skiing, hockey, basketball and the theatre.