5,000+ Resumes Written,
20 Years Executive Recruitment,
10 Years Career Strategist AUS & NZ,
Former Senior Recruiter UK, AU & NZ,
5,000+ Resumes Written,
20 Years Executive Recruitment,
10 Years Career Strategist AUS & NZ,
Former Senior Recruiter UK, AU & NZ,
5,000+ Resumes Written,
20 Years Executive Recruitment,
10 Years Career Strategist AUS & NZ,
Former Senior Recruiter UK, AU & NZ,
The board and NED career guide
Most board roles are never advertised, and most first seats come from people who prepared well before the call came. These guides cover how executives and CFOs build a credible case for a board seat, how chairs and search consultants read your papers, and what changes once you are in the room. They are written for Australia and New Zealand.
Getting your first board seat
The realistic routes onto a first board, paid or unpaid.
- →Board Observer and Associate Director Roles: A First Step for Mid-Career Leaders
- →Board Roles After Redundancy: Using the Gap to Build a Portfolio
- →From Senior Public Servant to Commercial Board Roles
- →From Unlisted to Listed: Getting Your First ASX or NZX Board Seat
- →How to Become a Non-Executive Director in Australia: A Step-by-Step Guide
- →How to Get on a Board in New Zealand: A Step-by-Step Guide
- →How to Secure Your First Paid Board Role Without Previous NED Experience
- →Professional Body Councils and Boards: A Finance Leader's First Governance Step
- →Superannuation and Investment Committee Roles: A Board Route for Finance Leaders
- →Why Most Board Roles Are Never Advertised and How Executives Get Considered
Board resumes, bios and applications
The papers a chair reads before deciding to meet you.
- →Can Your Referees Support a Board Appointment? What Chairs Need to Hear
- →The Board Biography: Why a One-Page Career Summary Matters in Board Search
- →The Board Expression of Interest Letter: What a Chair Reads and What They Skip
- →Your Board Resume Still Reads Like an Executive Resume: What Chairs Need to See Instead
Board interviews and search
How directors are chosen and what the first conversations test.
- →How Directors Are Chosen: Inside the Nominations Committee
- →The First Meeting With a Board Chair: What Makes Them Want a Second Conversation?
- →What Board Search Consultants Assess Before Putting Your Name Forward
- →Your First Board Interview: What Changes When You Are Interviewing for a Non-Executive Director Role
Types of boards
What different boards look for and what they ask of you.
- →Infrastructure and State-Owned Boards: Ports, Water, Energy and Airports
- →Nominee Directors: Representing an Investor on a Board
- →Regional Board Roles: Getting on a Board Outside the Big Cities
- →Start-up and Scale-up Boards: Equity, Risk and What Founders Need
- →Trans-Tasman Directors: Sitting on Boards in Australia and New Zealand
- →University Council and Education Boards: What They Look for in a Director
Life as a director
The work, the time and the hard moments once you hold the seat.
- →Audit and Risk Committee Questions Ex-CFO Directors Should Ask the Auditor
- →Board Director Time Commitment: How Many Hours It Really Takes
- →Board Strategy Days: Where Directors Actually Add Value
- →Company Secretary Career Path: From Governance Adviser to the Boardroom
- →Deputy Chair: Is It the Path to Chair?
- →Disagreeing on a Board: Dissent, Minutes and When to Stand Firm
- →Executive Director vs Non-Executive Director: What Is the Difference?
- →Signs of a Dysfunctional Board, and What a Director Can Do
- →The Questions Ex-CFO Directors Should Ask Management
- →When the Board Has to Remove a CEO: A Director's Role