NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Strategic input, and a brain wired differently to everyone else’s on the board.

I take on a small number of non-executive roles at any one time. Two or three, no more, because a board seat done properly is not a light commitment and I would rather do three well than six badly.

What I bring

I have actually done it. I founded a software business, brought in external investors in 2013, grew it into a multi-million pound operation, and sold it in 2026. I have sat on the executive side of a board with investor-appointed non-executives, which is the experience that taught me what the role is for. Along the way I led an acquisition strategy, navigated Brexit, and ran a full exit process end to end.

I understand regulated data and identity. Nearly thirty years in company law, corporate governance and the infrastructure of company formation, plus co-leading the Robust campaign with Transparency International and Global Witness which contributed to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act receiving Royal Assent in October 2023. If your business touches identity verification, anti-fraud, or Companies House, I have probably already had the argument you are about to have.

I am autistic, and it makes me a better director. I notice the detail in a board pack that does not reconcile. I cannot let go of a number that does not make sense. And I am unable to nod along to something I have not understood, which is an awkward trait socially and a genuinely useful one in a boardroom. I challenge hard and I challenge supportively. Those are not opposites.

I prepare. I read the pack properly, I learn the business, I understand the management information before the meeting rather than during it. When I chair, everyone gets heard, the debate stays on the item, and we finish on time.

Where I fit

• Founder-led technology businesses, particularly SaaS and platform models
• Regulated data, identity, and anti-fraud
• Businesses preparing for investment or exit, and founders working out what happens to them afterwards
• Community-led and membership businesses, which behave nothing like normal businesses and are usually managed as though they do
• Charities, trusts and academy boards

I take paid non-executive appointments, and I also give a proportion of my time to charity and education boards without charge. I am happy to discuss terms according to the scale and stage of the organisation.

If you are recruiting a non-executive and any of the above sounds relevant, send me a note with a sentence or two about the business and where you are in its life. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person, including when I am not.