Services / Independent trustee services
An experienced, independent presence on your trustee board — there to protect the interests of the employee owners, and to make the whole governance of the business work better.
The role
The trustee board of an Employee Ownership Trust is, collectively, the controlling shareholder of the company. That is a serious responsibility — and most trustee boards are made up of people doing it for the first time: an employee trustee, a director trustee, perhaps the former owner.
An independent trustee changes the character of that board. Not by taking it over, but by bringing what an experienced non-executive brings to a company board: commercial judgement, objective challenge, knowledge of what good looks like elsewhere, and the confidence to ask the questions others in the room may feel unable to ask.
Andrew Harrison currently serves as independent Chair of Trustees for a number of successful employee-owned businesses. This is not a service we added; it is work we have been doing for years.
What we bring
Someone on the trustee board with no history in the business, no salary from it, and no interest except that the trust does its job well.
Supporting the company board — and holding it appropriately accountable. Both halves matter, and knowing which is needed when is the craft.
Trustees must weigh dividends against investment, growth against risk, today's employees against tomorrow's. These are commercial questions and deserve commercially experienced answers.
Agendas that cover what matters, information flows that work, decisions taken properly and recorded properly. Quiet discipline, applied consistently.
The trust exists for employees who have not joined yet as much as for those here now. An independent trustee keeps the long view in the room.
Employee trustees in particular often tell us the presence of an experienced independent makes them braver — better questions get asked, and better decisions follow.
When to appoint
Appointments are typically for a fixed initial term, with clear expectations on both sides. If we are not the right fit, we will say so and, where we can, suggest someone who is.
If your trustee board would benefit from an experienced independent presence, we would be glad to talk — about the role, the fit, and whether we are the right people for it.