Nurole

🎙️New podcast with Lucy Walker   83. Chairing investment trusts & building a non-exec portfolio  Listen to Lucy’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/gE78NrB4 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/d9zwkyPV 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ Why did you build a non-exec portfolio relatively early in your career? (0:34)  ➕ How have different kinds of pro bono roles helped you in your non-exec career? (3:51)  ➕ How did you transition from pro bono to paid roles? (6:38)   ➕ What have been the biggest challenges for you as a relatively younger non-exec? (8:54)  ➕ How can investment trusts reach younger retail investors? (10:54)  ➕ Should investment trusts be going direct to customers? (13:12)  ➕ How are you thinking about the cost of shareholder acquisition? (14:46)  ➕ What value do the boards add at Aurora and Henderson? (16:05)  ➕ What process do you use to develop strategy? (19:24)  ➕ Is there ever tension between what shareholders want and what will produce the best returns? (25:38)  ➕ How would you assess a potential merger? (29:27)  ➕ Any tips for others wanting to transition from NED to Chair? (31:14)   ➕ As a Chair, what are you looking for in prospective board members? (33:46)   ➕ Can you walk me through a board skills matrix you’ve done recently? (35:26)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:17) #investmenttrust #boardportfolio #entertheboardroom Lucy Walker is Chair at AURORA INVESTMENT TRUST PLC, SID at Henderson International Income Trust plc, Audit & Risk Committee Member at SportsAid and Founder at AM Insights

🎙️ New podcast with Suranga Chandratillake 82. Startup boards and investor directors Listen to Suranga’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/gE78NrB4 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/d9zwkyPV 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ What role did the board play in your highs and lows as a founder? (0:41)  ➕ Where did the board add most value for you? (1:56)  ➕ What were the biggest highs with the board? (3:44)  ➕ What were the biggest lows? (6:40) ➕ What pre-exit advice do you have for founders / CEOs? (8:35)  ➕ What makes a good and bad investor director? (10:37)  ➕ How can CEOs deal with bad investor directors? (13:32)   ➕ When should investor-directors swap out? (17:58)  ➕ What have you learnt about investor-directors through tough recent times? (20:14)  ➕ What lessons can we learn to make sure investor-directors don’t flip into panic mode? (22:59)   ➕ How can boards help CEOs make tough decisions? (26:46)  ➕ When should businesses first have boards? (29:39)  ➕ What’s your playbook for selecting Chairs? (31:06)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(33:42) #startupboards #investordirectors #entertheboardroom Suranga Chandratillake is General Partner at Balderton Capital. As well as sitting on nine portfolio company boards, Suranga is an advisory board member at the University of Cambridge Endowment Fund and Diversity VC, fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering and The RSA (The royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce), and a young global leader at the World Economic Forum. Formerly, Suranga founded BlinkX. He was an early employee at Autonomy, where he left as US CTO.

🎙️ New podcast with Rebecca Robins CMgr CCMI 81. Next Gen Boards Listen to Rebecca’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/dnZeMWPx 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/dmQsP6sM 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ Can you summarise what you see as the five generations opportunity? (0:57) ➕ What can we do to foster more intergenerational collaboration? (3:13)  ➕ What role do respect and humility play? (6:49)  ➕ Practically, how can boards get the benefit of younger perspectives? (11:30) ➕ Why did you start the next gen board at Interbrand? (17:10)  ➕ What were the challenges? (22:04)  ➕ Can you share more case studies of effective next gen boards? (27:25)  ➕ Where do next gen boards go wrong? (33:34) ➕ How would you advocate for the opportunities of next gen boards? (36:20)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:45) #nextgenboards #boardofdirectors #entertheboardroom Rebecca Robins is Founder & CEO of a consultancy at the intersection of brand, culture and leadership. She also runs and teaches on leadership programmes for business schools and Universities, including University of Cambridge. She is on the advisory of a number of organisations, including the Chartered Management Institute and ‘AI for good’ pioneer Quilt.AI. A best-selling author of two books, with book #3 out this year: Five Generations at Work, available to pre-order from all good bookstore sites now!

🎙️ New podcast with Evan Epstein 80. Governance disasters: cautionary tales from Silicon Valley’s boards  Listen to Evan’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/e8jAYp3s 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/e2V698ky 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ What are your top five insights from your podcast guests? (0:54)  ➕ What level of involvement do board members need to be non-amateurs? (3:52)  ➕ What is the value of independent board members? (5:27) ➕ Can you talk about Tyler Shultz’s insight “fraud is not a trade secret”? (10:05) ➕ What lessons can board members take from Theranos? (15:59)   ➕ How would you sell governance to a sceptical CEO? (18:49)  ➕ What went wrong at Open AI? (21:51)  ➕ What could the Open AI board have done differently? (28:01)  ➕ What patterns do you see in silicon valley governance explosions? (30:43)  ➕ What options do boards have with high-risk, high-return Founders? (33:02)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(38:06) #governance #boarofdirectors #siliconvalley #entertheboardroom Evan Epstein is host of the Board Governance podcast, no.1 governance podcast in the US, executive director at the Centre for Business Law, adjunct professor at University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and founder and managing partner at Pacifica Global Corporate Governance

🎙️ Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings joined Evan Epstein on his boardroom governance podcast, #1 governance podcast in the US. 👉 Link in post below For any #entertheboardroom listeners, it's a chance to see Oli in the hot seat. 🎶 Track listing (0:00) Intro. (1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel. (2:07) Start of interview.  (2:58) Oliver's origin story. (7:00) His experience in private equity with PE-backed boards. (9:57) About the mission and focus of Nurole, the UK-based board search firm where he serves as CEO.  (12:27) On Nurole's network of 65,000+ board leaders (two parts: free and paid offerings). (20:16) Demystifying the board search process, four key stages (25:19) From a board candidate perspective. (28:14) On board evaluations. (32:44) Common characteristics of directors in board placements (they place ~1,000 directors per year). (33:50) On board culture and values of directors. (37:00) On specialized directors. (43:16) Differences between UK and US boards. (48:35) Other board issues to consider: 1) are boards generating value, and 2) revisiting board education. (52:48) About his podcast Enter the Boardroom. (55:15) His favorite episodes: Roger Martin,  Baroness Helena Morrissey and Sir Richard Dearlove. (59:20) Books that have greatly influenced his life. (01:00:30) His mentors.  (01:02:13) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by. (01:03:16) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves: the Eglu chicken coop. (01:04:45) The living person he most admires. #boardofdirectors #boardhiring

🎙️ New podcast with Priya Guha MBE 79. Board opportunities: a comparison of listed, government, start-up, charity and advisory board roles   Listen to Priya’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/dVK9fgwe 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/dQ68fD3a 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ Why have you built a portfolio career? (2:34)  ➕ What were the biggest challenges of moving into a non-exec career? (5:29)  ➕ What role have expertise spikes played in your applications? (6:49)  ➕ What are the key challenges you’ve faced on listed boards, and what have you learned? (8:03) ➕ What value does your investment trust board add to the manager? (10:06)  ➕ As a tech expert, how are you thinking about AI and LLMs on your boards? (11:32) ➕ What should non tech-experts be reading to get up to speed? (14:03)  ➕ Can you compare your government and listed roles? (15:01)  ➕ Why do you do government roles? (16:49)  ➕ How do startup boards compare with government and listed? (17:52)  ➕ How can boards do more to support female founders? (19:56)   ➕ How do your advisory roles compare to your fiduciary ones? (25:04) ➕ Why do you do non-profit roles? (26:35)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(29:19) #boardopportunities #boarofdirectors #boardportfolio  Priya Guha is a venture partner at Merian Ventures , NED at HERALD INVESTMENT TRUST PLC, Digital Catapult, and Reach plc, and Chair of the FICCI UK. She is also a member of the Investment Governance Board at Future Planet Capital, Advisor at Kheiron Medical and GALLOS Technologies, Member of the International Committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Ashridge Associate Faculty Member at Hult International Business School, Senior Independent Direct at Badminton GB and Advisor at Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates and The Youth Group.

🎙️New podcast with Jim Strang 78. Investment Trust Boards: managers, risk, valuations & discounts Listen to Jim’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/dmsK3Ty6 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/dFeHf5jN 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ How does the HgCapital Trust board add value? (2:18)  ➕ Where do your interests potentially diverge from HgCapital’s? (3:35)  ➕ What are the different products you’re considering, and how do you assess their potential value?(4:48)  ➕ How do you review strategy and performance? (6:20)  ➕ How do you think about how you will win? (8:30)   ➕ When would you consider changing your investment manager? (12:27)  ➕ How do you think about risk? (14:13)  ➕ In the face of growing geopolitical risk, what options do boards have? (17:58)  ➕ How can boards react to the risk concentration in cloud computing? (19:15)   ➕ Where can investment trust boards add value in terms of accounting policies? (22:15)  ➕ As a Chair, how concerned are you with valuations of portfolio companies? (24:01)   ➕ What should other board members look out for, which you’ve got wrong in the past? (26:55)  ➕ How do you get comfortable with revenue recognition policies? (28:11)   ➕ How do you think about board composition and succession planning? (29:42)   ➕ How are you thinking about discount to NAV? (33:28)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(34:55) #investmenttrust #boarofdirectors #risk Jim Strang is Chair at HgT , Adjunct Professor at London Business School , Senior Advisor at Bain & Company, Verdane and CVC Capital Partners, and NED at Pictet Group and BGF Group.

🎙️ New podcast with Geoff Smart How to hire board members and CEOs Listen to Geoff’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings on: 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/da7kWeEZ 👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/da5q-uFm 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 Or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ Where do boards go wrong with hiring?  (0:57)  ➕ Why do boards continue to over-rely on gut feelings and referrals? (2:36)  ➕ How can boards embrace diverse candidates, without relying on hypothetical questions at interviews? (5:10) ➕ What’s best practice for drafting role scorecard briefs? (8:44)  ➕ Why don’t organisations search more thoroughly when they hire board members? (13:11)  ➕ Can you talk through the four interviews that constitute your selection process? (19:21)  ➕ Can you outline the “Who” and “Focus” interviews? (24:19)  ➕ What do you think of cognitive ability and psychometric testing? (33:43)  ➕ What do you think of job specific testing? (37:52) ➕ Why doesn’t the disclaimer “past performance is no guarantee of future results” apply to individuals? (39:12) And  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:40) #hiring #boarofdirectors #entertheboardroom Dr Smart is Chair and Founder of ghSMART, a global leadership advisory. Ranked 2024 number 1 consulting firm in its industry by Vault, gh SMART has published three bestselling books: Who: The “A” Method for Hiring, ranked number 1 on Amazon for books on hiring; The CEO Next Door, a The New York Times bestseller, and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success, a The Wall Street Journal bestseller. Beyond his work at ghSmart, Geoff is a Trustee at CiviCO. 

🎙️New podcast with Paul Pester 76. Hard & soft impact: economics, culture and detail in the boardroom Listen to Paul’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings 👉 Apple - https://lnkd.in/dFGbisnA  👉 Spotify - https://lnkd.in/d2DXjsCJ 👉 Nurole - https://lnkd.in/e9YTq25p 👉 or wherever you get your podcasts 🎶 Track listing ➕ Where did the Virgin Money board add most value to you as CEO? (2:07)  ➕ Can you talk about the rotating Chair concept? (3:44)  ➕ Where could the Virgin board have added more value to you? (4:52)  ➕ How did the Santander board help during the banking crisis? (7:56)  ➕ How much detail should board members get into? (11:03)  ➕ Why do things go wrong, in spite of experienced boards? (15:03)  ➕ What keeps you awake at night as a board member? (17:17)  ➕ How can boards impact company culture? (20:23)  ➕ Are there quantitative frameworks boards can use to work on culture? (26:14) ➕ Do you have data that demonstrates how brand impacts revenue? (27:41) ➕ How did you start your board career? (31:23)  ➕ How do you understand the role of the board? (33:10) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(35:45) Paul Pester is Chair of Tandem Bank, NED at National Bank of Bahrain, representing the Bahrain Sovereign Wealth Fund, Mumtalakat, and Co-Founder at archie. He is a former CEO of Virgin Money and TSB Bank. #entertheboardroom #boardofdirectors #culture #economics

#EnterTheBoardroom is now in the top 100 podcasts on Apple 🎉🎉🎉. If it is not yet a regular listen for you, carve out some time this weekend to inspire yourself to become a better board member, now or in the future.