Mala Agarwal is the proud founder of Athena Care Homes, established in 2014 with a clear vision, to deliver authentic, person-centred care built on compassion, dignity, and respect. Since then, she has grown Athena into a strong and trusted regional care provider with seven care homes across East Anglia.

Inspired by her entrepreneurial mother, Mala combines business acumen with a deep personal commitment to care. She takes a hands-on approach to every aspect of Athena’s operations, ensuring that the company’s core values; delivering person-centred care, making moments together, celebrating every individual, and being there for one another, are lived and felt throughout the organisation.

With over 20 years of experience in the care sector, Mala’s leadership has been recognised both regionally and nationally. In 2019, she was named Asian Business Woman of the Year, and Athena Care Homes was featured in the London Stock Exchange’s “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain” list.

Before founding Athena, Mala co-founded Clearwater Care, an adult care company, and holds a joint honours degree in Business and Chemistry. Under her guidance, Athena has pursued a successful acquisition-based growth strategy, achieving five homes within its first five years and transforming care quality ratings along the way.

Today, with its head office in Laindon, Athena Care Homes continues to thrive under Mala’s leadership, upholding her belief that great care is about more than service, it’s about connection, celebration, and being there for one another, every day.

Lorna is an accomplished Chief Executive with over 25 years’ experience in operational leadership roles in the health and social care sector. A Qualified Nurse with a Master of Business Administration, Lorna brings a unique combination of clinical expertise and strategic leadership to her role.

Lorna is passionate about delivering exceptional care for our residents and their loved ones, ensuring that high clinical standards are matched with strong, compassionate leadership.

Central to Lorna’s vision is that our care homes across East Anglia become a pillar of our local communities, not only supporting our residents, but also offering opportunities for engagement and connection with people of all ages within the local area.

Daniel is dedicated to shaping the future of care through training and development and come to Athena Care Homes with exprience, passion and knowledge.

Daniel started working in a local care home as a teenager and did a nursing cadetship in hospital. He has also worked as a teacher,, an internal quality assessor and ran his own business as a training provider.

Daniel’s personal connection to care extends beyond his professional life. He has provided palliative care for his nan and both his mother and father-in-law, and an aunt, who lives with Parkinson’s disease. With both his mother and grandmother having been nurses, Daniel believes that his calling to care is deeply ingrained in his nature.

Hannah’s journey in care began over 16 years ago while studying Events Management at university. Alongside her studies, she worked as a carer in the community and quickly realised that supporting older people to live full, connected, and meaningful lives was where her passion truly lay. Combining her creative background with this purpose naturally led her into the world of lifestyle and wellbeing, and she’s never looked back.

Throughout her career, Hannah has held a variety of managerial roles leading lifestyle and activities teams, developing engaging programmes, and supporting staff to deliver experiences that truly enrich residents’ lives. She believes that later life should be filled with laughter, purpose, and opportunity, and that every resident deserves to be celebrated for who they are and the life they’ve lived.

At Athena, Hannah champions the importance of community and connection. She is passionate about helping residents stay involved with the world around them, whether that’s continuing hobbies and groups they’ve always enjoyed, discovering new local opportunities, or taking part in intergenerational activities. Her role is all about creating homes that are vibrant, welcoming, and full of life, where every day offers something to look forward to.

Lea brings her extensive HR experience across a diverse range of industries and international environments, having worked across the UK, Europe and the Caribbean. Her career spans construction, warehousing and distribution, luxury hotels and resorts, manufacturing, and automotive accident repairs, giving her a broad commercial perspective and a strong understanding of the role people play in organisational success.

Lea began her HR career in the construction industry on a three-month fixed-term contract, which ultimately developed into seven years. During this time, she gained her first HR qualification and became an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Throughout her career, she has benefited from the guidance and mentorship of exceptional leaders, supporting her continued professional development. She went on to achieve her CIPD Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management alongside an MSc in Human Resource Management, becoming a Chartered Member of the CIPD in 2015.

At Athena, Lea focuses on strengthening people practices, supporting managers, and developing effective approaches to employee relations, recruitment, workforce planning and talent management. She is committed to building strong working relationships, promoting fairness and consistency, and helping create a positive working environment where colleagues feel supported and managers are equipped to lead effectively.

Her approach is collaborative, pragmatic, and solutions-focused, with a focus on aligning people strategy with Athena’s operational priorities and supporting the delivery of high-quality care for residents.

Jo is the Head of Finance at Athena Care Homes and is passionate about ensuring the organisation has the strong financial foundations needed to provide exceptional care for residents today and in the years to come.

With many years of experience in finance and leadership, Jo oversees Athena's financial strategy, governance, and performance, working closely with teams across the organisation to support informed decision-making and sustainable growth. She believes that good financial management is about much more than numbers. It is about enabling investment in people, services, and environments that make a real difference to residents' lives.

Jo values building strong relationships with colleagues across all levels of the business and takes pride in supporting the teams who deliver outstanding care every day. Her collaborative approach and attention to detail help ensure Athena continues to balance financial responsibility with its commitment to providing compassionate, person-centred care.

As part of the senior leadership team, Jo is dedicated to supporting Athena's vision of creating warm, welcoming homes where residents feel valued, respected, and empowered to live life to the fullest.

Beth brings over 14 years of experience in adult social care to her role as Director of Quality at Athena Care Homes. Her career began as an apprentice care assistant, driven by a genuine passion for helping people and ensuring everyone receives the care, compassion and support they deserve.

Throughout her career, Beth has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge, including working as an inspector for the Care Quality Commission (CQC). While this role gave her the opportunity to make a difference to care standards, she missed the personal connections that make such a meaningful difference to people’s lives. This led her back to a more hands-on role, where she could reconnect with the people at the heart of care.

Today, Beth brings this passion and experience to Athena, helping to ensure we deliver high-quality, person-centred care that makes a real difference to our residents and their families.