Non Executive Directors
Background
- In the initial phase of the life of Companies, the Board of Directors (BoD) is usually populated by Shareholders
- These Shareholders are initially Founders of the company, the real Entrepreneurs
- Fast growing and innovative companies requiring external funding tend to add representatives of Investors in the BoD
- The resulting BoD is made of two groups : Founders and Investors
- This bipolar structure may quickly induce difficulties when the company faces challenges
Situations
- Disagreement on the strategy of the company
- Endangering of company assets by management
- Blockage on the implementation of the strategy
- Stall in the management of the company
- Need for funding
Added value of NED
- Bringing an external, less emotional view, of the possible future
- Protection of company assets
- Direct coaching of the CEO
- Interim CEO, search for new CEO
- Structured search for new Investors
An NED must by definition be independent, both intrinsically (because not linked with capital) and financially (because not in the need for a revenue). The main mission is to assure a clean and robust governance.
Still, an NED is not a free electron inducing instability in a BoD for the pleasure of it. An NED is there to defend the long term value of all the assets (financial, technological, market)
