Non executive directorships

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DeeKie

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Does anyone have any non executive directorships? I’m just wondering how hard it is to secure them and whether it’s possible to get enough of them to work part time with them.
 
Approach people in the industry you are expert in?

Do companies use head hunters to fill their boards?

Anyone I know who has NED roles has been approached by contacts on the foot of their expertise, articles or books they’ve written or an otherwise high profile in an industry. Or skill set such as finance or governance.

Maybe start with a volunteer role in one and build on that?
 
Stateboards.ie advertises the state ones, note some of those are also unpaid. Boardmatch is good for the charity sector and will help you build up a CV of this and make contacts.

Failing that, it's like looking for any jobs at that level, speak to some of the exec search companies might be best
 
I have a position with a national charity. Just trying to think about getting paid ones in the future
 
There are around 300 people registered with the IOD. That’s where lots of companies go if they don’t go direct. In reality, being female helps.
 
Yes. I’ve been toying with doing the IoD course. It is 15k, so I’m trying to get a sense of whether that investment would take long to recoup. I’m female so that’s something I suppose.
 
That’s expensive, there might be cheaper certificate courses you could start with and see if that gets you started?
 
Yes - I moved from a full time role to 2x part time non-exec roles in 2021.

For a good paid non-exec role the primary question that only you can answer is do you have the level of experience to add real value to a specific area of a business. This would want to be board level (or very close to it in a larger company) experience in an executive role. For anyone thinking of this its easier to plan this in your last few years in full time roles than try it cold once you've left.

For your first paid non-exec it helps to be round peg in round hole - e.g. if you have been HR director at HSBC then you should consider a non-exec role in banking, if you have smaller company growth/scaling experience then you would be useful to smaller businesses/startups etc. Its as simple is where will you add real value above and beyond everyone who's there already.

Then it's about preparing yourself to 'go to market' - ie getting the CV, LinkedIn, interview prep etc all sorted and then getting in contact with the right people - this needs a specific plan to use all avenues available to you - including the network you should already have from the roles you have done in the past (colleagues, industry bodies, government departments etc) and the people within the search firms that handle board recruitment (you should be known to these firms from your career ideally). There are individuals around who you can pay to support with this - if your past experience is strong enough then the best ones would probably be better value than the IOD course in my opinion.

Doing some consultancy helps - e.g. one of the roles I got first was gained through doing some due diligence with a PE company buying a business - once they got to work with me and know my expertise they offered me a non-exec role. You should be open to UK roles too as there's a lot more available there through both the larger companies and the PE firms based in London.

Did you have any unofficial sponsors/mentors that looked after you during your career and who are doing anything themselves now in your industry? They would be a good place to start, to give you an honest appraisal of is your experience strong enough to make it worth the effort trying, and then if so to start the journey.
 
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One thing to consider is whether or not you have any conflicts of interest or legal restrictions/duty of confidentially from current/previous employers
 
The Non-Exec gravy train isn’t what it once was, just to warn you. There’s downward pressure on the number of gigs people are allowed to take in the regulated sector. Everyone’s trying to get into it. The time commitment is increasing. Diversity and inclusion works against men trying to get into it. New rules are putting directors more on the hook in the finance sector. It’s great if you’re Richie Boucher or Patrick Kennedy, less so if you’re Joe Soap trying to follow in the footsteps of Joe/Josephine Soap who had four gigs paying him/her €25-45k each.
 
Bear in mind as well the number of scandals that have occurred in the charity sector, education sector etc. Do a proper due diligence of anyone who asks you to join
 
Gordon Gekko said:
The Non-Exec gravy train isn’t what it once was, just to warn you. There’s downward pressure on the number of gigs people are allowed to take in the regulated sector. Everyone’s trying to get into it. The time commitment is increasing. Diversity and inclusion works against men trying to get into it. New rules are putting directors more on the hook in the finance sector. It’s great if you’re Richie Boucher or Patrick Kennedy, less so if you’re Joe Soap trying to follow in the footsteps of Joe/Josephine Soap who had four gigs paying him/her €25-45k each.
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I believe 3 to 4 is still a viable amount of boards to hold.

I'm not terribly experienced in this area yet, but I sit on a board of a charity and have held board director positions. My two cents is as follows

1. It is a big time commitment and should be taken seriously
2. IoD is useful but participating in the course does not guarantee you a board role, it is more often than not about personal networks.
3. A lot of firms look at people who are full time NEDs rather than working part time.
 
Thank you all food for thought. My industry is law so we don’t usually have boards. However it’s a useful profession.
 
DeeKie said:
Thank you all food for thought. My industry is law so we don’t usually have boards. However it’s a useful profession.
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Would you think of getting onto some Law Society Committees to make some contacts. They’re unpaid if you’re a Solicitor, but great for networking. Every year around November they repopulate the committees - there may even be interim vacancies.

Regulators and Professional bodies periodically rotate and repopulate their disciplinary, regulatory, finance and risk committees which tend to be paid positions. (Medicine, Accounting, Dental, Nursing, Teaching etc). State Boards advertise regularly.

The key is networking, and making yourself known to the right people as a credible and knowledgable person in a given area.
 
Yes. I’ve been on a Law Society committee for many years. And was chair for a term. Sounds like I’ve been getting ready without trying . Thanks
 
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