Board and advisory roles
Technology risk nobody on your board can challenge?
I sit on boards and advisory boards of technology-led businesses as the independent technology voice: the person who can read the roadmap, the spend and the delivery record without reporting to the executive team producing them. Former CTO and COO, founder of my own consultancy for over fifteen years, working with boards internationally.
Most boards can challenge the numbers. Far fewer can challenge the technology behind them, which is where the cost, the risk and the delay usually sit.
Why boards bring me in
A second opinion the executive team cannot give you
Your CTO reports on their own work. Someone independent has to read the roadmap, the spend and the delivery record without a stake in how it looks.
Translation in both directions
Technical constraint explained to the board in commercial terms, and commercial pressure explained to the engineering team in terms it will act on.
Diligence preparation, from the other side of the table
I have raised growth capital at series A and B with private equity houses and private funds, so I know what an investor's technical reviewer opens first.
A steady hand when something breaks
A failed programme, a supplier dispute, a departing technical founder. The value of a standing board relationship is that it is already in place when that happens.
Three ways the relationship is usually set up
Which one fits depends on how formal your board already is, and on whether you want a standing relationship or an answer to a single question.
Non-executive director
A formal board seat with the statutory duties that go with it. Suits a company with an established board that has no independent technology voice on it.
Typically a monthly board meeting plus preparation and ad-hoc calls.
Advisory board or founder advisor
No board seat and no statutory office, so it is quicker to start and easier to end. Suits earlier companies who want the judgement without the governance overhead.
Typically a standing monthly session, with availability in between.
Investor-side technical diligence
A one-off engagement for an investor or acquirer: what the technology, the team and the technical debt actually amount to, written plainly enough to price.
Scoped to the transaction, delivered as a written report.
The difference between a NED, an advisor and a chair, in law and in practice
What boards say
“Engaging Tim as an advisor was one of the best decisions we made for our company. Tim brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and a fresh perspective to the boardroom. He has helped us to make better strategic decisions, improved our governance and brought valuable connections to the table.”
“Tim is results driven with all his endeavours, focused on the delivery of on-time solutions to the benefit of the business, an assured change manager who incorporates business change and technology to maximum effect. Tim also excels at closing the communication gap between less technical senior managers and the hands-on development team.”
Is there an independent technology voice on your board?
Send me the shape of the business, who is already round the table, and the question the board keeps failing to get a straight answer to.