Next generation of Non-Exec Directors (NEDs)
Moon Executive Search has a long-standing relationship with Ash Philips, Founder of Yena, a platform that brings ambitious individuals together, democratising access to entrepreneurship via their ‘startup-ecosystem-by-subscription’ and now-global free meetups.
Here at Moon Executive Search, we continually explore the different scenarios in which a Non-Exec Director can be most effective for a business and in this article, we ask Ash to reflect on the next generation of Non-Exec Directors and consider how they can bring a new perspective to Boardroom discussions.
Ash starts by reflecting on what he feels is that the lack of understanding of the true factors influencing culture today, which leaves companies at risk of being disrupted by faster, ‘closer-to-the-problem’ start-ups.
Ash comments, ‘Digital transformation’ talk is rife with management consultancies pitching their insights to big firms and yet many of the consultants in these firms have never had a snapchat account, don’t know what Byte is or mispronounce the word ‘meme’.
The new nomenclature of ‘OK boomer’ is born of a generation who are tired of being misunderstood and bored of the older generation trying to remain relevant and ‘hip’ as they themselves might call it. Corporates could be considered the ‘boomers’ of the business world.
At Yena, our primary demographic tends to fall under 35 and we have heard the frustrations of this group of millennials, gen-z and gen-alpha with the products, services and experiences provided to them – especially in a B2B context. They want better, and companies should be providing it. Otherwise, these people – with the access they now have thanks to the internet and no-code tools – will build it themselves and create the businesses opportunities that you could have.
Nose-turning at new approaches can be a corporate-killer. Consider the fact that Blockbuster shunned the ideas of Netflix when they suggested streaming was the future. Now there is just one Blockbuster store left on the entire planet, whilst Netflix boasts over 150 million paying subscribers in households across the world.
Traditional approaches, cultural overthinking, slow-reactions, and accidental ignorance are all risks posed to boards at companies like this. Trying to fight this with internal thinking only, often results in innovation programmes that miss the mark or marketing campaigns that just don’t translate.
Bringing diversity of age to the table could bring about untold new opportunities
As we talk to Ash further, it is clear he believes there is a way to help these companies stay relevant, react quickly and implement real change that could see them thrive for decades to come – by appointing ‘next-gen’ NEDs.
‘Non-Executive Directors, or ‘NEDs’ for short, are commonplace on the boards of medium and large companies. Thankfully there is now a lot of talk about being more considered when building these boards of people for the purpose of catalysing diversity of thought, to naturally counter the aforementioned challenges’ says Ash, ‘however one thing that still limits opportunities for these businesses to truly innovate is diversity of age.’
‘Imagine a board of directors with a confident, business-minded teen or twenty-something, adding contrary thoughts to the plans of vastly experienced, commercially-minded peers. What opportunity might that bring about?’ muses Ash, ‘it’s reasonable to assume that in representing the future clients, talent or partners of the organisation, this person might be able to bring about ideas that foster better innovations, in the right ways, that present well to the public.
Nose-turning at new approaches can be a corporate-killer
‘This approach might also mitigate the need for street-level market research and instead of paying many people small amounts of money for filling in questionnaires, you may be able to get the same insight from someone who represents the demographic in your very own boardroom’ continues Ash, ‘bringing diversity of age to the table could bring about untold new opportunities, develop accountability around culture and diversity, and create a better employer, all-round, for young talent to join.
Further benefits of such a scheme would also see exposure to corporate life for young talent wanting to explore senior roles later on, create a duel-benefit of knowledge transfer both up and down the generations and within the organisation. The CSR of mentoring and the benefit of high-level consulting delivered in one go.
The next time your board meets, look around and ask yourself if you have someone that represents the opportunity in this idea. If not, maybe it’s worth considering…’ concludes Ash.
For more information regarding our NED Practice, please see here or contact Vanessa Moon or Simon Quinn to discuss your Non-Exec Board composition on 01275 371 200.