Pocket Living founder steps back to take new chair role

Pocket Living’s founder and chief executive Marc Vlessing will be taking on the new role of chair of the company, and chief financial officer Paul Rickard has been promoted to managing director. Vlessing founded Pocket Living in 2004 with Paul Harbard after a career in banking and entertainment, and oversaw the development of 1,500 affordable homes in London. Rickard, who has been the company’s chief financial officer for the past five years, will now be responsible for leading the business’s long-term strategy and operational delivery. Prior to his role at Pocket Living, Rickard held senior positions at One Housing, Paragon Community Housing, Circle Housing, TradeRisks and Deloitte. Vlessing said: “After two decades building Pocket Living, now is the time for me to take a more strategic role, and for Paul to take the company to the next level. As Pocket evolves and responds to the changing London market, it will need to develop a more diverse range of products, and we have made a good start on that with a rental scheme that we recently delivered at King’s Cross.” Photo: L-R Marc Vlessing and Paul Rickard (courtesy of FTI Consulting)