Independent Trustee Placement Service
Independent Trustee Placement Service for Employee Owned Businesses
In partnership with EO specialists Eternal Business Consultancy
Selecting an independent trustee is one of the most important decisions you will make to ensure the success of your employee-owned (EO) business.
That is particularly true in the early years, where exiting owners and senior leaders must have reassurance that their new Trustee group is being well led and supported to find their feet.
Our placement service will help you find the independent trustee who is right for your employee-owned business based on experience, location and individual fit.
You can learn more about employee ownership and download our EO Guide here.
Why you need an independent trustee
The role of the independent trustee is key to ensuring the whole trustee group works effectively together to help ensure the business succeeds.
Specifically, the role of the independent trustee includes supporting the whole group to:
❖ Effectively represent the interests of employees as owners now and in the future
❖ Protect the ethos and core values of the business for the long-term
❖ Exercise accountability with the board/senior management team in a way that is fair, constructive and challenging when it needs to be
The independent trustee brings a vital understanding of how employee ownership differs from other business models, alongside a strong core understanding of best practice commercial, operational and governance principles.
Our Trustee Placement Service
Our Service is provided by a partnership of EO experts Eternal Business Consultancy, and specialist non-executive services firm Boardroom Advisors.
Given our complementary expertise, we can make clear promises on quality and price:
❖ Proven expertise: We provide individuals who have knowledge and experience in both business and governance. Every candidate is a senior professional with significant experience in non-executive-type roles and has received specialist EO coaching from Eternal Business.
❖ Extremely flexible: You can decide how proactive or passive you want your independent trustee to be. You can dial the level of support you need up and down as required, from the same individual, or switch the service off at any point without any penalty.
❖ Highly affordable: We charge a minimal up-front price of just £300. After that, you set the level for how much support you’ll need month to month and pay for no more than that. No expensive one-off recruitment fee; no need to commit to multi-year contracts.
❖ Tailored to you: We select the best fit candidates for you from a hand-picked pool of 75 senior and experienced individuals, available from each region of the country and with a wide range of experience across multiple business sectors.
❖ Wider non-executive needs: You may also wish to consider strengthening the non-executive capability around your Board table. We can support you to find a dedicated Board Non-Executive Director who specifically understands the needs and nuances of employee-owned firms.
How it works?
We have a very simple 5-step process to get from here to welcoming a new independent trustee or non-executive director to your business:
Step 1: Take a few minutes to fill out the form below.
Step 2: You’ll be contacted to fix a time for a discussion to help set a clear brief. That will be with both an expert from Eternal Business Consultancy and from Boardroom Advisors.
Step 3: We will come back to you with two recommended candidates for you to consider on paper, and (if you choose) through interview. If you need to see a further selection that is possible.
Step 4: You make your decision. Only if you decide to go with a candidate, you pay a one-off payment of £300 + VAT. You confirm what level of support you are looking for and agree ongoing payment arrangements.
Step 5: Your new independent trustee starts to help your employee-owned business to succeed.
In safe hands
This service is brought to you by a handful of experts in employee ownership and non-executive placement, including:
Chris Budd, Chief Executive, Eternal Business Consultancy
In addition to running the Eternal Business Consultancy, and having taken his own small firm into employee ownership, Chris has experience as an EOT Trustee himself: “Having transitioned my own firm into employee ownership, I know just how vital it is to find the right person to be your first independent trustee. They’ve got to be a wise and empathetic leader who can guide and support your group of new and typically inexperienced trustees to build their confidence and skill.”
Campbell McDonald, Senior Associate, Eternal Business Consultancy
Campbell is the Chief Executive of the new EO sector think tank Ownership at Work, a former MD of EO consultancy firm Baxendale, and has been the independent EOT Trustee Chair for global architecture and design firm Broadway Malyan since 2018: “A well-led trustee group can deliver competitive advantage to a well-run employee owned firm. Proactive trustees will boost the energy of motivated employees, keep the senior team on their toes and ensure the EOT mechanics run smoothly and drive the business to succeed.”
John Courtney, Chief Executive, Boardroom Advisors
John is founder and CEO of Boardroom Advisors and has very broad experience. He has been a Company Director for over 40 years and has placed Non-Executive Directors for over 25 years. A leading advocate of Employee Ownership, John has also organised MBOs, MBIs, trade sales, JVs, mergers and de-mergers. In addition, he has vast experience of funding via business angels, private equity, venture capital, private offices as well as debt financing in its many forms.