A director at Sanctuary Group has beaten off competition from directors across the UK to become the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) New Chartered Director of the Year 2017.

Nathan Warren scored higher than any other candidate in the IoD’s Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction examinations, and in the final assessment.

Chartered Director was initiated more than 10 years ago and aims to equip directors with the all-round skills, knowledge and understanding required to successfully direct an organisation from a strategic perspective.

Since its inception, thousands of directors worldwide have undertaken the training courses and sat the examinations. In the UK, around 6,000 course places were filled in 2016 alone, and there are now around 1,400 qualified Chartered Directors globally.

Sanctuary Group delivers a range of accommodation from social housing, shared ownership to homes for outright sale, care homes, student accommodation, supported living, maintenance and telecare services across England and Scotland.

Nathan is the lead for the Sanctuary’s commercial growth strategy, ensuring the Group is able to enact its charitable objectives of delivering housing and care to those who need it. He also heads up the Group’s Fairness for All campaign and chairs its Equality and Diversity Working Group.

He said: “I am delighted to have received this award and be named alongside the other Chartered Directors who successfully completed the rigorous assessment process.

“With over 15 years’ experience in corporate finance and strategic delivery, and latterly leading a number of operational businesses, I was keen to become a Chartered Director to build and demonstrate my understanding of corporate governance and move to take on challenges at the highest strategic level. I look forward to using my new skills and knowledge to further deliver Sanctuary’s charitable objectives and core values.”

Director training may not yet be compulsory in Britain but it is recommended in the UK Corporate Governance Code and in many other international corporate governance codes (without being prescriptive about the type of training).

Furthermore, the IoD Diploma in Company Direction is a recommendation in the financial services sector in the Channel Islands while full Chartered Director is highly regarded by the Republic of Ireland’s financial regulatory authorities for board positions for the financial services sector.