Insights from the Journey of a
Board Transformation
Dr Mary Hardwick
Badminton GB Limited
A Brief History
• 16th May 2007, the Board (British Badminton Olympic Committee
2000 Ltd) agreed to a new strategic structure within which the home
nation Badminton Associations would address issues of common
interest which apply on a Great Britain wide basis.
• Board was renamed to Badminton GB Ltd.
• Appointment of an Independent Chair in January 2008.
• Charged with:
– Creating and Maintaining an effective Governance Framework for the World Class
Performance Programme.
– Ensuring the effective working of the Service Level Agreement through which the
programme was delivered, with Lead Home Nation Accountability
Challenges still existed!
• Operational / Tactical rather than Strategic
emphasis.
• Home Nation tensions around real and
perceived conflicts of interest.
• Limited Governance Experience to monitor
plan in an effective way.
Leading to a Strategic Review
• Loss of Performance Director and Plan clearly off track in December
2010.
• Set the scene for the Board to commission a ‘no holds barred’
Strategic Review (by Vikki McPherson, acting PD)
• Board met monthly and were fully engaged in the Review.
• Continued through April 2011.
• By June 2011 - emerging from the ‘red’ zone and agreed the need
for bolstering Governance capability with NED experience.
• Initial expectation for 2 NED’s was increased to 4 (based on loss of
Vikki McPherson to UKSport and Company Secretary to Badminton
Scotland Board).
How we went about Recruitment
• Established a detailed and documented
Recruitment Process:
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Detailed Job Description & Person Specification
Strong Advertising Campaign
Application process
Short-listing process
Selection Process
Very Proactive Advertising Campaign
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Home nations websites
BADMINTON England website
UK Sport website
Sport England website
Sport Scotland website (Leon to confirm if appropriate)
Sporting Equals website
Institute of Directors (IoD) website (via Total Execs)
Open University (OU) website
Linked In network
Business networks:
Chamber of Commerce (Milton Keynes – will feature in Chamber
of Commerce Bulletin)
HR in Sport Network
HR Network Milton Keynes
Financial Times Non-Executive Directors Club website
The Non Executive Directorship Exchange
ICSA Chartered Secretaries
Non-Executives Unlimited
Sport and Recreation Alliance website
The Whitehall Industry Group
At a total cost
of only
£1,700!
Success Rates
Advertising Medium
Number of applicants
BADMINTON England Website
5
Exec-appointments.com via Financial Times Non
Exec Directors Club
7
ISCA
2
Linked In (via ISCA)
1
Non Executive Directorship Exchange
1
Not stated
8
Sport England Website
1
Total Execs via IoD
10
UK Sport Website
4
Word of mouth
1
TOTAL
40
Shortlisted
16
What did we look for?
• First and foremost knowledge and experience
that could be leveraged to improve Strategic
Governance.
• Secondly, a new perspective on old problems
– bringing fresh ideas and asking ‘why’!
• Thirdly, relevant experience in a professional
area.
Jon Siddall (Company Secretary)
• Until recently Chief Executive of LandAid (The property
industry charity). With more than 20 years involvement in the
non -profit sector.
• Previous roles include successfully launching the Sports
Dispute Resolution Panel as the arbitration and mediation
service for sport in the UK, overseeing central support
services as Deputy Secretary of the Lawn Tennis Association,
and running LawAid, a charity established by the legal
profession to raise money for the homeless.
• Jon originally trained as a lawyer and started his career as inhouse lawyer for IMG in London.
Jeff Halliwell
• Former Managing Director of the turkey producer Bernard
Matthews Farms.
• Career in fast-moving consumer goods industries, having previously
been Managing Director of Fox's Biscuits (Northern Foods), and of
First Milk Cheese Company, the UK's largest cheese business.
• Earlier in his career he worked for Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, and
Cow & Gate/ Milupa, in the UK and internationally, and was
European Managing Director of a venture-capital backed high-tech
business.
• Currently a Non-Executive Director of NHS Norfolk, Director/
Trustee of Shaw Trust (a national charity which helps the disabled
and disadvantaged to enter the workplace), and Vice-Chair of
Governors at the University of Bedfordshire.
Graeme Finch
• Managing Director of Finloch Management Services.
• Senior executive with a proven track record in leading and
running companies of various sizes for over 20 years.
• Was previously Director and General Manager of the National
Skills Academy for materials.
• Has also chaired audit committees for publicly funded bodies
and was CEO of Ngage Solutions Ltd a company that
previously ran the Business Link contract for Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire that is now involved in the
Third Sector and publicly funded project work. (now a NED
for that Company)
Jane Nickerson
• Chief Operating Officer of ASA/ British Swimming,
in charge of a total group turnover of £36million,
supporting over 1200 swimming clubs
throughout the UK.
• Prior to joining ASA /British Swimming Jane
fulfilled a number of senior management roles
within the hotel and catering industry.
Where are we now?
• Initial reservations from existing Home Nation
Members:
– Too many?
– What’s the value without Badminton experience –
how are their skills applicable?
– Should NED’s vote without a deep understanding of
the issues?
• Two Board Meetings with NED structure
– Over to Jane for a view ‘from the sharp end’!
Life as an independent Director
• First meeting – Sporting language – OK for
some
• Second meeting – Business skills to the fore
• Able to ask the “innocent” question
• No political history therefore check and
challenge is easier
Conclusions
• Moving to include NED involvement was not an easy
passage.
• The ‘independent’ Strategic Review and a need for change
was the catalyst to make this happen.
• All Board members had to be fully engaged in the process
and bought into the candidates selected.
• It takes time and effort.
• After two meetings the value is evident and enthusiasm is
increasing proportionately.
• Persevere!