Career Transition Testimonials

The heart of my executive career was spent investing in SMEs and subsequently sitting on the boards of those investee companies and appointing independent directors too. I therefore not only had a very strong understanding of how boards and NEDs operate but also a clear view of the types of role and involvement I wanted going forwards.

Given this and a large professional network at my disposal, I might also have felt I didn’t need much help with making the transition. However, I knew Mike from earlier on in my career when we’d worked to build a captive NED network together and I also knew that he was interested in the soft skills, cultural and motivational issues around NED appointments. I therefore asked Mike to help me prepare for NED life with some targeted career transition advice.

Going through the process encourages thorough self-reflection and I found this really valuable when setting expectations for myself and deciding how I would go about securing my first few roles.

Mike’s very experienced in this field and very supportive but also unfailingly honest, which means that you will have to confront the obstacles to your own success. Happily, his service can also help you develop strategies for overcoming those obstacles. Finally, it helps that he’s a thoroughly nice and decent bloke to spend time with. Needless to say, I rate Mike highly and would suggest that anyone considering making the transition to non-exec would benefit from discussing the matter with him

Mike and I met through the Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma, during which Mike delivered a presentation about “Securing your First NED Role” and addressed the participants’ questions. Mike’s insights were extremely valuable for my search process; he emphasized the need to prepare for the search, to assess my suitability for a NED role and to understand the situation to which I would be best suited. A few weeks later, I asked him to help me revise my executive resume into a one tailored to non-executive positions. We also worked on my Memorable Repeatable Message (i.e. my selling line). I have been delighted by the outcome of my collaboration with Mike, and by the quality of his input. Mike is also a great guy to work with: available, responsive and anxious to provide clear and precise answers. More importantly, with Mike’s help I have expanded my portfolio of NED positions; I was recently elected Chair of the Board of one of the world’s largest NGOs in the area of sustainability, I joined the Board of a scientific start up and I am currently involved in the selection process for a NED to one of Europe’s largest retailers.