Deborah Cooper writes for UK Construction
In June 2008, Director at Warren Partners, Deborah Cooper, took over Tim Kemp's usual slot to discuss the rise in popularity of multiple non-executive roles among professionals of all ages:
After a long and successful career, the logical next step for the businessman used to be retiring to the golf course or perhaps a home on the Costas. Some would choose to stay on in business as a Non-Executive Director, making use of their knowledge and experience to help a young company.
As the population ages, there is no doubt that more and more individuals are recognising that staying engaged with businesses, while enjoying a bit more freedom, can be hugely fulfilling. While the money they are paid for undertaking one or two days' work as a Non-Executive Director doesn't compare with what they could earn as a Chief Executive or Managing Director working full time, it is a way of making a real difference in the corporate world by helping up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
This has led to the emergence of the 'pluralist'. Many of these individuals are retired executives with a number of purely non-executive roles, but there are also a growing number of comparatively younger senior executives who are choosing to take non-executive positions alongside their day jobs. Pluralism, or the state of holding two or more positions at once, has had its fair share of criticism, with a number of commentators suggesting that such non-executives spread themselves too thinly. But when done well, the rewards for both the individual and the companies he or she works for can be huge.
Mike Davis is now the Non-Executive Chairman of Warren Partners, Unique Communications Group and PMI Health Group. He maintains the same role for the AIM-listed Driver Group, whose subsidiary companies, Driver Consult and North Gate Executive Search, provide the construction industry with commercial and dispute resolution and executive search services respectively. Earlier in his career, Mike spent 28 years as a partner working in corporate finance at a global accountancy firm. He says: "I had thoroughly enjoyed the variety of work at the accountancy firm, but, by the time I reached my early 50s, the prospects for maintaining this variety had started to diminish. I wanted to concentrate on working with entrepreneurial companies – something I've always been passionate about.
"Working with several companies means that I have been able to maintain a level of diversity in the businesses in which I am involved. I now find myself drawn into a real mix of business issues, from determining strategy, through to acquisitions and difficult human resources issues."
As he became a senior partner, Mike found it frustrating to see his opportunities narrow and the experience he had gained with age go unexploited, a phenomenon that is particularly true for those in larger firms with complex hierarchies. This means that while it is increasingly possible to continue working at the same company to a later age, senior executive positions can mean more delegation and less direct involvement with a wide range of projects. For Davis, and for growing numbers of older executives, taking the non-executive route has been the best way to get some of the variety back.
People are more active in the latter part of their working life than ever before, so keeping up the interest is becoming more and more important. Non-executive positions can be hugely rewarding and, for those who no longer have the mix of projects they enjoyed in their earlier career, the pluralist approach is attractive. Meanwhile, for the board, the experience of someone who has worked with a broad range of businesses and who knows what works and what doesn't in various situations can be invaluable.
June 2008
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