Insight Guide - The Value Of An Outside Voice (Non-Executive Directors)

A Family Business United Insight Guide to Non-Executive Directors in a Family Business, in association with TWYD & Co.

The right Non-Executive Director can be the most valuable person in a family business boardroom, precisely because they are not family.

Family firms are built on trust, loyalty and a shared sense of purpose. Those same strengths can make difficult questions hard to ask. When the people around the board table are also the people around the Sunday lunch table, an independent perspective can be what helps a business think clearly about its future.

Produced by Family Business United in association with TWYD & Co, leadership advisers to families in business, this Insight Guide brings two complementary perspectives together. The first explores why NEDs matter so much in a family business and the roles they play. The second is a practical guide to making an appointment that works, from defining the need through to the first year and beyond.

What’s inside:

• Why family businesses are different. How the overlap of ownership, family and management changes the role of the non-executive.

• The roles a great NED plays. Eight roles, from constructive challenger and guardian of good governance to steward of succession and mentor to the next generation.

• Finding the right person. The qualities to look for, the common pitfalls and how to make the relationship work.

• Appointing a NED in a family business. Defining the mandate, running the search, assessing candidates, and handling time commitment, fees, terms and length of appointment.

• Changing long serving board members. How to handle one of the most sensitive parts of board renewal.

• The first year. Induction, reviews and setting the appointment up to succeed.

• Glossary of terms. Plain English definitions of the language of boards and governance.

• Step by step checklist. Eight stages, from agreeing the purpose to reviewing tenure, including due diligence and Companies House requirements.

  
  

Who it’s for:

• Family business owners and shareholders considering their first independent appointment

• Chairs and boards reviewing whether their board is fit for what comes next

• Next generation family members preparing for future ownership and leadership

• Advisers who support family businesses on governance and succession

Why now?

Family businesses face a demanding agenda: succession, growth, the governance needed to scale, and the wider planning made more urgent by the reforms to Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief. These are the decisions where an experienced, independent perspective proves its worth.

A NED is not a luxury reserved for large family firms, nor a sign that the family has lost control. Chosen well and empowered properly, they strengthen the family’s stewardship rather than diluting it. This guide shows you how.

Format: [PDF download] · 18 pages

Price: [£25 / free to FBU members]

Published by: Family Business United, in association with TWYD & Co