Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School, Member of the Sustainability Council of Novo Nordsik, and author of Many Contain Lies. In this conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings, Alex covers: Do diverse boards lead to better corporate culture and performance? (1:44) Where have diversity-performance studies gone wrong? (3:37) Does inclusion have an impact on performance? (6:05) Why don’t you think anyone has managed to prove the positive impact of diversity on company performance? (7:01) Does good corporate governance improve performance? (10:11) Do boards work? (12:01) Do financial incentives work? (13:36) Which truths do boards need to be more aware of? (15:43) What is the relevance of confirmation bias and binary thinking to decision-making? (17:37) Why did you focus on these two biases, over any others? (20:00) Can you talk through the “ladder of misinference”? (23:39) Have you ever been challenged that experience trumps evidence? (28:29) What role do you see for experience and intuition on boards? (29:55) What are the most important insights board members can take from May Contain Lies? (31:01) What have you learned about challenging in the boardroom? (34:22) What’s been your emotional experience of challenge? (37:22) And⚡The Lightning Round (39:02) ⚡ Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Sir Richard Dearlove KCMG OBE is a former Mi6 Chief, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Advisory Board member at American International Group, and Chair at Ascot Underwriting, to name a few. In this conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings, Sir Richard covers: How do you make sure you are receiving accurate information from execs? (1:41) What lessons did you learn from the implosion of AIG? (4:16) What are the most valuable lessons you can offer someone on a government board, based on your experience working with politicians? (7:40) How can board members manage the court of public opinion? (11:30) How can we make more room for risk-taking and mistakes? (13:17) How have your best board members offered you support? (15:58) What have you learned about getting your point across in the boardroom? (17:36) How do you balance expertise with common sense? (19:10) How do you assess risk, especially geopolitical? (24:36) What do boards need to be thinking about when it comes to China and Russia? (29:20) What lessons have you learned about crisis management? (33:40) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡ (35:46) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Stuart Roden is Chair / former Chair of Lansdowne Partners, Hetz Ventures, Lewis Advisors, Tresidor, the Design Museum and Unlocking Potential, NED at LSE and Trustee at the National Gallery and Centre for Social Justice. In this conversation with Nurole CEO, Oliver Cummings, Stuart covers: When you were an investor, did the quality of the board come into your investment evaluation? (1:34) Do boards justify their costs? (4:48) Do you think the board is more about governance than value creation? (8:15) Where and why have you made mistakes, hiring the CEO? (12:38) How do you build the best relationship with your CEO? (19:39) Practically, as a Chair, how do you make sure you are discussing what you need to with your CEO? (24:01) How do investors add value as board members? (25:47) How do you think about capital allocation and return on resources in the boardroom? (28:53) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(33:04) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Baroness Dambisa Moyo is a current board member of Chevron and Conde Nast, investment committee member of the Oxford University Endowment, and co-principal of Versaca Investments. Join her and Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings in a conversation which covers: Which of your boardroom experiences have been the most challenging? (1:44) How do the best boards deal with uncertainty and risk? (4:31): How do you think about the Risk Committee? (12:43) What do you know now which you wish you’d known when you first entered the boardroom? (14:32) How aligned are board members on the role of the board? (16:28) What have you learnt about adding value across strategy, CEO succession and culture, which might not be intuitive to an experienced executive? (20:02) How can people from non-conventional backgrounds best position themselves for board roles? (22:06) Should boards have strategy and audit sub-committees? (24:57) What is your dual-tracked approach to strategy? (29:35) You once had four CEOs in six years - what did you learn? (34:13) What is the remit of ethics committees? (36:48) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡ (40:43) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Roger Martin, ranked the world's #1 management thinker, considers the following in the second part of his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings: What is the board’s role in developing strategy? (2:13) What is the board’s role in communicating strategy across an organisation? (7:37) Do you think every organisation has the potential to build a winning strategy, or are some lost causes? (11:20) How can boards hire the best people? (21:49) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(23:01) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Roger Martin, ranked the world's #1 management thinker, has advised the boards of Procter & Gamble, Lego, Ford, BHP, Verizon and more. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Do you see value in boards? (2:06) Where do you see value in NFP and private, investor-backed boards? (5:13) Can boards perform their monitoring function effectively? (10:05) Why do you think boards struggle to perform their stewardship role? (11:26) How do the best boards think about strategy? (17:33) How can boards determine whether their strategy will win? (18:53) Are there a finite number of ways organisations can win? (23:17), and what is the board’s role in developing strategy? (26:02) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

In recent years, Cathy has built a broad plural career at listed companies, with current NED positions at Lloyds Banking Group plc, Rentokil plc and Spectris plc. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her thoughts on: How did you get your first NED position? (1:50) How did you turn that first position into a plural career? (7:55) To what extent has your performance in current positions created more non-exec opportunities in the future? (11:28) What have been the most challenging moments in building your non-exec career? (14:55) Where do you go for support as a board member? (19:18) Did you consciously develop a board expertise spike in remuneration? (21:30) What are the different archetypes people can lean into to develop their board careers? (24:51) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(28:55) and (Audience question) How do you pitch yourself as a first-timer versus someone who has a portfolio of non-executive roles? (32:52) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Dr Dembkowski has led board reviews for firms across the FTSE 100 and DAX amongst others, and her academic work on the subject is internationally recognised and peer-reviewed. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her thoughts on: Why do a board review? (1:38) Are private companies less inclined to board review, and if so, why? (4:29) What do you say to those who think board reviews are ineffective and overpriced? (6:29) Where do boards most commonly go wrong with reviews? (8:39) What is the most important data to capture in board reviews? (12:58) Given the impossibility of an A|B test, how do we know what “effective” looks like? (14:27) What are the key factors that go to your definition of board effectiveness (18:39) What characteristics do the worst boards have in common? (25:47) Should we review individuals or the board as a whole? (27:21) What can boards do to better implement feedback? (28:56) Should board reviews look at the board’s ability to undertake specific tasks like hiring and firing the CEO? (31:05) How valuable do you think observers are for making boards more effective? (33:35) What aspects of board reviews are you sceptical about? (36:03) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:26) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

On top of his Cabinet Office role, Anand is a NED at Saga plc, Polar Capital Holdings plc and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Tune in to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his thoughts on: Was being a portfolio NED always the plan? (1:03) What advice do you have for people in the early stages of their board careers? (1:57) Pre-interview, how did you make yourself stand out as a candidate? (4:00) What role did your entrepreneurial background play in your applications? (6:03) Are the same things that helped you stand out, the ones that help you add value to your boards? (7:31) What executive experiences have been most valuable as a non-exec? (8:37) What was the biggest surprise when you started as a board member? (11:04) What was your thinking around taking on pro bono roles? (11:48) How do government and charity boards compare? (16:46) What is the Cabinet Office board and what does it do? (19:46) How is your role as Lead Non-Exec different from non-exec? (26:03) How do your listed company boards compare to government and charity? (31:31) What have you learned about managing time across your portfolio? (33:59) Are there any rituals common to the highest performing boards you’ve seen? (34:54) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡ (39:06) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Andrew is Chair of a series of investor-backed businesses, including Ainscough Crane Hire, Winoa Group, Joloda, Detertech, ETL Systems, Hydraroll and Senior Advisor at Blackstone Credit. Tune in to his discussion with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: What inspired you to move from CEO to Chair, and how did you prepare for it? (1:43) How have you identified and got the most from mentors? (4:23) What prompted you to do a self-assessment as a Chair? (11:31) What lessons have you applied from the self-assessment? (16:52) How do you navigate complex stakeholder dynamics as a Chair? (18:58) What have you learned about managing private equity investors? (26:13) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(31:38) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

As CEO of Board Intelligence, Jennifer Sundberg has seen what works and what doesn’t across thousands of boards - insights crystallised in her recent book Collective Intelligence. Listen to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Do boards still matter? (0:46) How can we determine which decisions need to be made by the board? (2:16) How can boards measure their organisation’s collective intelligence? (5:33) What does critical thinking look like in board papers? (7:27) How can board members encourage execs to do more critical thinking? (8:58) Have you noticed any recurring rituals across the highest-performing boards you see? (16:17) How can boards identify the most important questions they need answered? (18:13) How do the best boards balance thinking in and outside of the boardroom? (19:49) What are the respective roles of execs and non-execs in developing strategy? (22:17) How do you see the ideal Chair-CEO-NED dynamic? (27:42) What are the most common mistakes boards make with communication? (29:00) Does communication really matter? (31:13) What should board members take from your final chapter, “when it all goes wrong?” (34:08) How can boards inoculate themselves against belief perseverance? (35:58) Do you feel like you’ve got it right with your own board? (37:23) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(39:00) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Sir Nicholas is Chair / former Chair of Historic Royal Palaces, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Fashion Council, Professional Publishers Association, Condé Nast Britain and Provost-Designate at Eton College. Tune in to hear his answers to: As a Chair, where have you been most and least effective leading through difficult times? (1:25); How did you know you could handle rapid expansion at Conde Nast? (8:14); When you were Chair of Conde Nast International, how did the board think about cost-cutting? (16:33); What do you think about voluntary redundancy, and how do you balance the welfare of those staying with that of those going? (23:50); What is your approach to fundraising? (27:49); To what extent do boards have an obligation to hold their organisations to account for their history? (33:58) and⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:34) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Wais is CEO / former CEO of PrivateDoc and Push Doctor, and NED & Committee Chair at Snappy Shopper, Reach Plc and The Gym Group. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: How did the Push Doctor board add most value to you as CEO? (1:24) Did you ever get frustrated by board members from big business not understanding the realities of early-stage organisations? (3:58) How did you keep your board engaged? (7:13) How did the board add value beyond their contributions to revenue? (9:54) How have the best boards supported you through challenging times as a CEO? (13:23) How did you think about changing your advisory board members? (21:20) How did you think about the advisory board’s ROI? (22:25) How did the advisory board fit alongside the main board? (25:07) What have you learnt about adversity, as a CEO and non-exec, which others might benefit from? (26:13) How do you think about time management as a CEO and non-exec? (30:21) Why do you sit on listed boards? (34:11), and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(36:51) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

As CEO of the Chartered Management Institute for over a decade, Ann Francke has spent some time thinking about what good management looks like and how organisations achieve it. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: How can we know that investing in leadership causes high-performance, rather than there just being correlation? (1:31) If investment into management training produces better outcomes, why are market forces not dictating more investment? (5:22) As a board member, how do you handle a visionary CEO who’s a bad manager? (9:13) If you were on the board of a highly-successful organisation and you heard a horror story about the CEO, what would you do? (11:29) How do you decide when to speak up and when to hold your tongue about what you feel is right? (16:22) How can board members evaluate their organisation’s management? (22:55) How do you balance intuition and data-led questioning? (27:52) How do you think about balancing technical and managerial competence? (29:13) What can board members do, practically, to help their organisation improve its management? (32:56) What other mistakes do boards make, which have the most negative impact on management? (36:27) How do you overcome groupthink in the boardroom? (39:22) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:09) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

How can boards help businesses keep hold of the value they create? In “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy”, Hamilton identifies seven powers organisations can develop to protect themselves from competition. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to discover how you can use them as a board member. Hear Hamilton’s answers to: Why are your insights in 7 Powers relevant to board members? (1:58) How do the best boards define strategy? (5:20) How can they use the 7 Powers to inform their strategic input? (13:01) How can boards understand their competitors’ power? (16:51) How can boards assess the power of their brand?(19:49) How do you determine whether your power is subject to diminishing returns? (30:00) How can incumbents use the 7 Powers to respond to new competition? (34:44) Why do organisations struggle to marry strategy and execution?(38:09) How much time do the best boards spend on strategy? (43:30)⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(46:53) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Sarah is Chair of Bionic, Yeo Valley, Riverford Organic Farmers and Sawdays and Senior Advisor at OMERS Private Equity. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Why did you take on your first board roles whilst you were still a busy non-exec? (1:33) What do you know now which you wish you’d learnt then? (4:17) What was the biggest surprise of the boardroom? (7:09) In what ways did your exec and non-exec roles inform each other? (9:09) Did you consciously decide to leave your exec career and go portfolio? (10:53) How did you think about transitioning from pro bono to paid roles? (12:31) What were the most challenging aspects of the transition? (16:30) Did you have a breakthrough moment or was it just persistence? (19:12) How do your boards compare across different ownership structures? (20:43) What characteristics would you take from each structure to create the dream board? (25:57) What have you learnt about chairing which you wish you’d known before? (27:49) How would you design a perfect Chair role? (30:55) What have been the good and bad interview questions as a prospective Chair? (32:31) How do investor-backed Chairs ensure they are even-handed with CEOs? (35:01) How do you ensure your values shape your portfolio? (37:46) As a Chair, what do you look for in NEDs? (41:00) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:12) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Martin sits down with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to consider: How did the board add value during Aberdeen’s organic growth? (1:45) How did the board help through acquisitions? (3:45) How have you learnt from your mistakes? (7:35) How did you balance instinct with analysis? (8:54) How does the board’s role at Revolut compare to Aberdeen? (12:19) Has the world become less forgiving, and what can boards do to help? (17:30) Why do you take on roles at listed companies? (19:26) What value can CEO-NEDs add to boards (and vice versa)? (22:10) How do you identify high-risk / high-value employees? (24:49) What value have “future” sub-committees added? (26:18) How should boards manage their high-risk / high-value employees? (28:42) How can investment trust boards help their executive decision-makers? (33:15) What are the traits of the best investment trust board members? (35:44) Do investment trusts need cult fund managers? (39:43) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:49) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Professor Kakabadse, one of Harvard Business Review’s most influential management gurus, has spent a lifetime working with boards, publishing 45 books and 250 scholarly articles on the subject. Tune in to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: How do you define and measure the board’s role and effectiveness? (0:57) Can you unpack the meaning of “board stewardship”, with examples? (5:07) How can boards build requisite psychological resilience? (11:35) How can Chairs manage domineering board members? (16:14) What can board members do where they feel impeded by governance?(19:23) Where can boards deliver the most value today? (24:25) Which forms of diversity do boards need to add more value? (29:42) What can UK boards learn from other systems? (41:10) Should Chairs play a more dominant role for boards to be more effective? (43:09) What are the respective roles of CEO and Chair? (46:21) How do Non-Execs slot into a close Chair-CEO relationship? (48:51) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(53:05) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has worked with boards from most angles, across every business stage. Tune in to her discussion with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings as she reflects on her journeys with Snoop and Virgin Money, and hear her answers to: How have you thought about fundraising for Snoop? (1:29) When and why did you first create a board? (6:01) How did your investor directors add value? (7:59) Were the boards more than just rubber ducks? (10:35) How have the best boards and Chairs provided you with support? (13:06) How do you think about getting the best out of your Chairs as a CEO or Founder? (18:23) Who sets strategy - the Board or CEO? (22:53) Are there downsides to customer-driven strategy? (26:03) Practically, how have you engaged with your boards over strategy? (27:47) What was your experience of chairing the company you founded? (31:44) How do you think about board composition at different business stages? (34:55) How did you think about board size at different business stages? (37:57) What mix of execs and non-execs has worked best for you? (40:17) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:13) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

After fifteen years as an investment banker, Matt joined the board of Prostate Cancer Research. Two years later, he was Chair - a job he now does full time. What made him make the leap? Tune in to Matt’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: What advice would you have for someone considering becoming a Chair? (1:36) How did you prepare for your Chair role? (3:36) Why did you want to become a charity Chair, given the risks? (6:29) How can you add the most value as a Chair? (8:36) What have you done to foster a culture where people feel comfortable innovating? (11:13) How have you thought about board composition / hiring? (12:01) What have you learnt about onboarding? (16:17) Does trustee engagement vary depending on how you recruited them? (18:08) What is your approach to fundraising? (21:45) How do you build a high-net-worth network? (26:10) What have been the biggest challenges of chairing a charity board? (27:14) Which areas did you need to improve the most when you started chairing? (28:59) To what extent do you choreograph meetings? (34:47) When do you encourage execs to come with recommendations versus points for discussion? (36:58) What due diligence do people need to do before accepting a charity Chair position? (38:59) How did you know you felt passionately enough about your charities? (42:26), and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(45:15) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides