Our strength lies in our experience; working closely with listed and privately-owned businesses to construct highly effective and representative Boards, aligned with your goals and objectives.
Our extensive networks ensure we are able to attract both established business leaders alongside the Board-ready fresh perspectives of up-and-coming talent, to ensure your Board is best equipped to succeed, whatever challenges or opportunities you are facing.
How we can help you
As established and highly-respected leadership advisors, the Partners of ISP bring extensive expertise in appointing Chairs, Non-Executive Directors, Chief Executives and Chief Financial Officers to the Boards of companies across the UK and internationally.
Diversity of thought, gender and ethnicity are common themes in all our work. We recognise that effective Boards must have the right leadership, breadth of expertise and perspectives to deliver shareholder and stakeholder success through good times and bad.
Chair appointments & succession planning
We invest time to build a strong understanding of your business, its challenges and ambition, together with shareholder aspirations and requirements.
The Chair
The Chair is the most important non-executive appointment to any board. They must attract qualified and relevant directors to the board and harness their talents, while treading the fine line of being both mentor to, and employer of, the CEO.
Chair Succession Planning
Planning the succession of the Chair is one of the most important governance responsibilities of all Boards. We understand the importance of ensuring the appropriate balance between skills, style and experience to ensure success.
Non-Executive Directors
A Non-Executive Director brings a combination of independence, expertise and strategic thinking, combined with the ability to challenge constructively and probe effectively.
We understand that an effective Board requires the ability to bring experience, perspective and insight combined with the ability to challenge constructively, question effectively and listen attentively. Boards are facing increasing demands across a broad swathe of issues, all under the scrutiny of intense media and regulatory attention.
SID and Committee Chairs
The Senior Independent Director and Committee Chairs are key to Board effectiveness. Identifying appropriately qualified and experienced leaders to chair the key Committees requires us to have a good understanding of the technical requirements for these roles but also the soft skills required to lead these Committees.
CEOs
The Chief Executive is the key driver of your business. It is their responsibility to formulate strategy and, once it is agreed by the Board, to execute it.
The successful CEO must employ, lead and inspire people; often working in large and widely-dispersed teams. The day-to-day reality of the CEO role is even more complex; identifying the best CEO who can respond, adapt and lead in all situations is challenging. ISP has a proven track record in getting to the heart of what our clients need in a CEO, and working tirelessly to find it.
We work closely with the Board to ensure successful CEO succession – benchmarking internal talent against external candidates, highlighting the strengths as well as the relative weaknesses and guiding the Board through this critical appointment.
CFOs
Recognising the CFO’s critical leadership role within a company.
Your CFO is often the co-leader of your business, working closely with the CEO to drive strategy, performance management, investor relations and of course maintaining a sound control environment.
Today, the CFO has a central role in the leadership of a business, often assuming responsibility for other functions such as IT, procurement, transformation, property and more.
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Our track record
The Partners of ISP have completed more than 300 search assignments between them. Some of our placements include:
Chair, CEO, CFO and NED
Listed manufacturing group – North West
Chair
FTSE 250 electronics group – South East
Chair, NED
FTSE 250 software group – North West
Chair, NED
Listed (AIM) software business – Australia
CEO
Listed (AIM) services group – South East
2 NEDs
Listed specialist manufacturer – London
2 NEDs
FTSE 250 transport group – London
NED, CFO
Listed (AIM) mining group – London
Chair, 2 NEDs
Family-owned property / engineering group – South East
CEO
Private family office – London/New York
Chair, NED
FTSE 250 manufacturing group – Yorkshire
CEO, CFO, 2 NEDs
Listed technology group – South East
CEO successor
Family-owned manufacturing group – Ireland
CFO, NED
Listed leisure group – South East
CFO
Listed (AIM) technology group – South East
CFO
PE-backed software group – London