Directory of Accredited Board Performance Reviewers

Address:
Ten Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 T380

Phone:
+353874875043

Arthur Cox LLP is widely regarded as the leading law firm in Ireland. We have been at the forefront of developments in the legal landscape here for over 100 years, establishing one of the largest and most innovative law firms in the country – a firm that stands at the front of the industry.

The Company Compliance and Governance Group assists companies, their directors, secretaries and managers to comply with their statutory obligations and good practice by providing technical and practical advice and assistance. The technical knowledge and experience of the Group is unparalleled and comprises some of the key Irish thought leaders in the field of company law and company secretarial law and practice. These include Dr Thomas B Courtney, former Chair for 18 years of the Company Law Review Group and architect of the Companies Act 2014 and author of the leading textbook, The Law of Companies, (4th ed; 2016); Jacqueline McGowan Smyth and James Heary, co-authors of the Irish Company Secretary’s Handbook (2nd ed; 2019) and Dáibhí O’Leary, contributory to several books and author of the soon to be published Law of Statutory Auditors.

The group provides a full spectrum of assistance with the statutory responsibilities and obligations of companies, directors and officers. The core services provided by the group are corporate governance and company law review and advice, company secretarial, and legal and compliance risk. These services combined provide companies with a corporate compliance risk management service, which is positioned to draw on the expert specialist practice groups within Arthur Cox.

The group is multidisciplinary, with a large number of CGI accredited members along with solicitors, Chartered Accountants and a Chartered Financial Analyst. For further details of our services, see here.

Our approach to Board Performance Reviews

Arthur Cox is the first service provider in Ireland to be granted the “Accredited Board Reviewer” status by the Chartered Governance Institute UK&I, which recognises providers that “have demonstrated an exemplary service in the undertaking of board performance reviews and are aligned to our Code of Practice”. Our reviews are carried out in accordance with the latest version of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland Code of Practice for Board Reviewers (September 2023). We take a practical and pragmatic approach, tailoring our offering to the unique needs of the organisations that we work with, to provide valuable, actionable insights. For more details, see here.

Address:
1^st Floor, Tudor House, Le Bordage, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1DB

The Team Overview: The Board Advisory team from AASL collectively has substantial experience in the finance and commercial sector predominately across the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. We have extensive experience as Directors of regulated companies, across all sectors. The team are primarily members of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland and the Institute of Directors who have individually been “approved” by the Financial Services Authority, Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the Jersey Financial Services Commission. We enjoy the support of over 60 people across the Group.

Experience: A considerable proportion of our experience has been focused within the investment fund sector particularly listed investment companies, with the emphasis in the management and support of funds and their respective boards of Directors. We have been assisting boards of Directors of both unlisted and listed organisations, across all sectors for over twenty years, and took this knowledge to establish the AASL Board Advisory Team over ten years ago.

We offer corporate governance and regulatory support to boards across multiple sectors. In the area of corporate governance we provide external board performance reviews, enhance corporate governance frameworks, Director fee reviews, succession planning and reviews of the services and fees of service providers. Typically we undertake board performance reviews for entities such as banks, investment companies and funds, trust and corporate service providers, charities and regulated utility companies. We welcome any other sectors not specified.

Specifically related to listed investment companies our experience spans the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”), the London Specialist Funds Market (“SFM”), Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”), Euronext, Irish Stock Exchange (“ISE”), Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) and The International Stock Exchange (“TISE”).

Phone
+44 7760 590405

Better Boards is a service provider for board effectiveness evaluations and development programmes. The team around Dr Sabine Dembkowski provides fully facilitated external board evaluations and development programmes and access to their innovative digital platform, which allows companies to conduct external and internal evaluations without booking consultancy services.

The questionnaire is based on peer-reviewed research. The user-friendly platform provides a wide range of functionalities that allow the questionnaire to be tailored to an organisation's specific needs, as well as the creation of benchmarks, comparisons, and individualised reports for every director.

Better Boards is sector-agnostic, allowing the team to serve clients in various industries nationally and internationally. Most clients are from the following sectors: Financial Services, Transport, Automotive, Utilities, Infrastructure, Manufacturing/Engineering, IT, Retail, Professional Services, Real Estate, Mining and the Public Sector. Client organisations are listed on the FTSE100, FTSE250, DAX40 (German stock exchange), NASDAQ (US stock exchange), SWX (Swiss stock exchange), ATX (Dutch stock exchange) and Private Equity-backed.

Our experienced team will help you with:

1. Board evaluations - Alignment between the board and it’s committees to a long range strategic plan, including evaluation of board composition, strategic oversight, risk management, governance processes, reporting protocols and director contributions. A more granular approach looking at specific areas of assessment with the creation of a set of frameworks to bridge gaps between boardroom decision making and business execution  

2. Committee effectiveness - A reflective approach to the optimisation of existing board committees and the creation of new ones, providing a distilled action plan to move forward in unity

Sectors:

Financial Services

Energy & Mining

Charity

Retail

Medical & Pharmaceutical

Membership Orgs

Healthcare

Leisure

Hospitality

Sports

Phone
07802835057

Board Excellence is a leading provider of services in Ireland, the UK and internationally, designed to support and enable high-performance boards that add significant value and represent a key driver of an organisation’s performance. We conduct board evaluations to assess the level of performance and effectiveness, we provide board and director training as well as mentoring and coaching to improve this effectiveness, and we also provide board mediation services in those scenarios where inevitable tensions can threaten to derail the focus and work.

Board Excellence provides services to a range of clients operating across all business sectors and all ownership structures. We provide services to Boards of listed companies, private equity backed companies, private companies, non-profit boards, and public sector boards across all sectors and of all sizes in the UK, Ireland and internationally.

Phone
+44(0) 7595 357615

Ceradas was established in 2017 to help boards and governance professionals be more effective in their roles. We do that by bringing different perspectives and experience to bear on the challenges and opportunities that our clients encounter on their governance journeys. We focus on the key players in the process – directors and company secretaries – and the forums through which they operate.

We conduct board effectiveness or performance reviews. These reviews can take a variety of different forms; however, our approach is mainly qualitative with interviews being our preferred methodology often augmented by documentation reviews and board observation. This means that our reviews are  forward-looking, in-depth and focused.

Our insights derive from the experience gained over 30 years working with, and observing close to hand, a wide variety of boards and committees. This gives us an extensive catalogue to draw on in our assessment and recommendations of what does (and doesn’t) make for an effective board. We firmly believe that good governance is about the substance of what boards do rather than the form; that’s why we devote time to research what board and committees have been thinking about and discussing. This is underpinned by a good technical understanding of the regulatory and stakeholder expectations in corporate governance.

We service the following sectors: Listed companies (all sectors) and charities.

Address
8 Sanger Drive, Woking, Surrey, England, GU23 7EB

Phone
07764831307 or 02085606380

Conseo Board Review is a new venture from the experienced team (formerly with CGI Board Evaluation) whose roots go back to 2002. Our team brings a wealth of experience in successfully conducting board performance reviews for a variety of organisations. Having worked with FTSE 100 and 250 groups, Small Cap and large private companies, regulators and 'not for profit' organisations both in the UK and abroad, we have gained a unique and practical insight into boardroom behaviours and practices which sets us apart. At Conseo, we leverage our collective experience to offer a tailored approach. Our methodology empowers us to deliver thoughtful and practical recommendations, guiding our clients on how to enhance board effectiveness. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in our reputation for conducting constructive and purposeful performance reviews. Our approach is characterised by a commitment to facilitating a thorough self-review process rather than a conventional external 'evaluation.'

We service the following sectors: Corporate viz, FTSE 100, 250, 350, Small Cap, AIM, Private; Regulators; Mutual organisations; Royal Charter bodies; Professional bodies; Charities

Email
info@demyst.co.uk

Demyst is a progressive, interdisciplinary board advisory firm specialising in board performance and development.

Our clients are boards and senior leadership teams who want to:

• find better solutions to harder problems;
• consistently make better decisions than their competitors; and
• have a bigger positive impact on society and the planet.

We help our clients to achieve those aims by measuring relational and systemic factors that impact performance and identify hidden risks. Through close collaboration, we then help them shape ways of working to unlock latent capability and elevate performance over the medium to long term.

Our multidisciplinary team—combining expertise in governance, psychology, neuroscience, and data science—provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors that drive success. Our mission is to stimulate systemic innovation and enhance the quality of problem-solving, decision-making and supervision for the benefit of all stakeholders.

We service all sectors (including financial services, public sector and not-for-profit).

Address
Cournswood House, Clappins Lane, North Dean, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4NW

Phone
+44 (0) 7773 777 495

Sector agnostic but we are highly correlated to FTSE listed companies, financial services, large businesses, family businesses, government owned subsidiaries, investment trusts, high risk industries, global organisations, crown dependencies, non-UK based organisations, charities, educational bodies, associations, etc.

Phone

+44 (0)20 3823 6569

Since 2009, Halex has been at the forefront of corporate governance and risk management thinking. Working primarily across financial and corporate sectors, we combine innovative, light-touch consultancy with leading practice expertise and thought leadership in corporate governance, board evaluation and risk management.  Our focus is always to help our clients secure a competitive edge through improved board performance and better navigation of risks.

Our years of experience and deep expertise allow us to work flexibly, adapting our approach to meet your needs while leveraging tried and tested principles. Our aim is always to provide you with valuable and value-adding insights, advice and guidance.

Halex Consulting is the UK/EU strategic alliance partner for Board Benchmarking, a provider of world-class benchmarked board, committee and director effectiveness surveys.  Through our relationship with Board Benchmarking, we have access to a global network of governance experts covering Australia, Canada, East Africa, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA.  

We understand what really matters to boards and executive management. We aim to work closely with you, cutting through the complexity and helping you make the change needed.

Specialism:  Financial, Commercial and NFP sectors. FTSE 100 and 250, AIM and SmallCap listed, FinTech and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Address
Warnford Court, 29 Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AT

Phone
07549032722

For over 20 years, Independent Audit has sought to provide forward-looking, stimulating board performance reviews that highlight and protect a board’s strengths whilst supporting its ongoing development. Our skilled team have first-hand experience as executives, governance professionals and non-executive directors and are known for being both personable and professional. Our work is supported by our proven analytics platform, Thinking Board^®, which enables us to tailor solutions to clients’ needs. We offer single-year solutions for both internally- and externally-facilitated board performance reviews as well as a three-year board development programme.

Specialism:  FTSE 100 and 250, AIM and SmallCap listed, unlisted companies, NFPs, Financial Services.

Address
Monometer House, Rectory Grove, Leigh on Sea, Essex, SS9 2HL

Phone
07507 438920

Indigo has a strong track record of conducting board reviews as part of its diverse governance offering.

Our reviewers are drawn from our team of expert Chartered Governance Professionals, each of whom has broad and deep experience of working with boards and is skilled at recognising and identifying potential weaknesses in board composition, boardroom culture, meeting support and processes and effective governance practice. Typically, two members of our team would work alongside each other on the review, with a third senior member of the team available to discuss difficult issues and to review and provide independent challenge on the draft report.

Our review methodology and the cohort of participants beyond the directors and company secretary will vary from client to client, depending on the client’s requirements. A typical review will include a range of the following elements: questionnaires, skills assessments, document review, board and committee meeting observation, one-to-one interviews, facilitation of board discussions on the report and follow-up support on action implementation.

Indigo’s team is experienced in reviewing governance arrangements in a wide range of organisations.  Our primary focus is on the commercial sector, including listed companies, private companies and family-owned businesses, but we are also able to deliver board reviews for charities and other not-for-profit bodies, as well as public sector organisations.

Address
13 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AD

Phone
0207 407 2002

Established in 2002, Lintstock is an advisory firm specialising in board performance reviews. We are proud to act as retained advisor to the boards of over 120 organisations across five continents. Our services range from helping boards with internal survey-led reviews, to conducting external reviews with interviews and meeting observation. We also act as a policy advisor to the UK Parliament’s corporate governance group.

Lintstock services all sectors. We have a strong presence in the listed space and a wide range of other clients including private companies, wholly-owned subsidiaries, mutuals, joint ventures, NHS Trusts, housing associations, governing bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Our depth of experience across various sectors sets us apart, enabling us to share best practice and put board performance into context.

Phone
+ 44 (0) 7799 068660

Lorraine Young BSc FCG ACIArb - Lorraine is a chartered governance professional and accredited mediator who provides board advisory and related consultancy services. Her board review practice has recently been accredited by the Chartered Governance Institute (UK & Ireland). Lorraine has been conducting board reviews since 2008. Her extensive experience of governance and boards in a wide variety of settings, together with her empathy and people skills, mean she is ideally suited to work alongside an organisation’s governing body to help it refine and improve its performance.

Lorraine is a non-executive director and audit committee chair at PHSC plc and a former non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at City of London Group plc, both AIM listed companies. Lorraine is a Past President and Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute. She has held senior in house governance roles at a number of FTSE companies. Lorraine is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, where she is on the Court and chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Specialism: Willing to consider any, but in particular, listed (main market and AIM) or privately owned commercial businesses (employee owned and PE backed among others). All business sectors covered with particular experience of financial services and TMT, sports sector, membership organisations and other not for profit organisations. I have done a little in the public sector too.

Phone

+44(0)7779 253 278

As a chartered secretary and governance professional Anne-Marie Palmer LLB FCIS, has over 20 years’ experience of working with companies to develop, enhance and facilitate their corporate governance.

Having conducted independent board performance reviews for FTSE 250 and AIM companies, she has the expertise and solutions to facilitate a bespoke review. Anne-Marie’s experience gives her the capability and credibility to conduct independent board performance reviews.

Offering a bespoke approach, board performance reviews can be arranged through questionnaires, interviews with board members, observing board meetings, engaging with stakeholders as well as evaluating board documentation and findings from previous reviews. Agreeing with each client on the scope, purpose and distinct nature of each review, a tailored and detailed report is provided on the findings and proposed actions. As she works independently, central to Anne-Marie’s principles is ensuring she has the capacity to deliver on commitments.

Specialism: FTSE 100 and 250, AIM and SmallCap listed.

Phone

+44(0)203 844 0032

Founded in 2009, Sam Allen Associates is a boutique Board Services firm partnering with FTSE100, 250, AIM & SmallCap and privately owned businesses across sector. The Board Practice is led by Sam Allen, who has had a unique career in industry with Dunhill, Sainsbury’s plc and Greene King plc, latterly being a FTSE 250 Board member, before moving into Executive search and Board Effectiveness as Managing Partner.

Our primary purpose in undertaking the Board Performance Review is to help Boards continuously improve both its own performance and the performance of the company. By doing so, the Board can provide reassurance to shareholders and other stakeholder groups that they operate and act in their best interests.

In our view Board Effectiveness Reviews should focus on two areas. Firstly, a review of structure and processes in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code. Secondly, and of significant importance, an assessment of behaviours, relationships and the performance of Board members. Our Board Effectiveness Reviews will address both of these factors then work in partnership with the Board to create a pragmatic and realistic action plan.

Our long-term relationships are built on mutual trust. We aim to become a valued partner to your business by telling you what the business needs to hear rather than what it wants to hear.

Specialism: Sam Allen Associates is sector agnostic, we have experience working with the Boards of PLC businesses (FTSE100, 250, AIM & SmallCap) as well as privately owned and private equity backed businesses.