Our Approach

With over 20 years’ experience of recruiting Chairs and Non-Executive Directors to the boards of exciting, growth businesses, often with VC or PE funding we have a very strong understanding of what makes a good match between the requirements of the business and the skillset of the Chair or Non-Executive Director. We support this experience and instinct with a little bit of science. Alongside Mike Hicks of Catalysis, we have developed, for both our CFO and our Chair processes, our bespoke online job spec diagnostic tool, The EquityIQ.

We created the chair-specific EquityIQ by close analysis of 50 Chair role specifications we have worked on and using Mike’s skills within Management Due Diligence, we were able to develop a deceptively simple 10-minute online survey that we ask all the relevant stakeholders (investors, senior management team) to complete at the very beginning of the search.

Please see here for a more detailed description of the Equity IQ – Chair.

It has been developed to ensure there is agreement across all parties as to the key requirements for the role. It highlights areas of consensus and disagreement at the beginning of the assignment, rather than later in the search, ensuring the best possible chance of success. We then use these responses to help produce a role specification on which we are all agreed, to share with candidates.

We then undertake a full process combining a search of our extensive curated database for potential candidates and suggestions of candidate and extensive primary research - we thoroughly map the market. We then seek to approach, attract and assess potential candidates and after an initial qualification call, we will conduct a lengthy interview (in person or via Teams) to determine candidates’ experiential relevance and their chemistry match with the business resulting in the timely presentation of a fully interviewed and qualified shortlist. References are taken at offer stage. Some clients prefer taking the references themselves, others ask us to take them.

Ordinarily we work on a retained, fixed fee basis.

For more information please contact Cindy Casciani, Managing Director.