The Forum urges a ‘healthy’ balance between supply and demand for firmwide leaders and other advisers as NEDs at corporates and other organisations. The Forum and others believe that this would result in better Board decisions and a boost to UK productivity/prosperity:

• Boards are failing in their duty to shareholders if they do not challenge how the business strategy is to be implemented
• Suitably-prepared advisers could make a significant contribution to Boards were they to be given the opportunity to serve as NEDs
• Firmwide leaders serving as NEDs are more likely than other advisers to ask the right questions, address the right issues, and select the right executives to implement the agreed strategy
• Most advisers believe that they will have an easy path to NED roles so fail to prepare. The Forum’s new NED Development Programme, led by Richard Thorby, helps advisers prepare for these roles
• The Forum’s new NED Recruitment Programme, led by Richard Chaplin, uses its unique set of relationships with current and former firmwide leaders to source NEDs for a wide range of organisations on a commercial basis
• Participating in these new NED Programmes should enhance a firm’s influence and reputation, the emotional intelligence of its advisers, and its succession planning

More information is available on the campaign update