Cognitive diversity creates stronger boards

G's Fresh is a group of international businesses and an integrated grower-to-market organisation with growers on every continent to fulfil demand 52 weeks of the year. It has an annual turnover of c.£100m. The G's Chilled division sought a Non-Executive Chair to lead the high performing Board, ensure company governance, and provide insight and guidance on business development strategies to drive UK revenues and build the international business.

In ten days the Nurole platform identified Chris Thomas, the Executive Chair of Street Eats Food Ltd and former CEO of both Tulip UK and Adelie Foods.

"As a first time user of Nurole, I was very impressed by the quality of candidates who responded to our advert. The best “long list” I have ever seen for a NED role. We were spoiled for choice. It was easy to move to a shortlist, interviews and then an offer."

Rodney Baker-Bates, Chair, G's Fresh Group

Glen Dimplex, the world's largest manufacturer of electrical heating, were looking to find a Non-Executive Director who could help them take their family business to the next level.

Through Nurole they identified such a strong field of candidates that they eventually appointed four individuals: Martin McCourt as the new Chairman, and Chris Cole (FTSE 100 WSP Global, Chairman), Joe Menendez (The Vita Group, CEO) and Andrew Griffiths (Samsung Electronics, President) as three new Non-Executive Directors.

"I registered with Nurole and liked the fact I could keep my profile completely anonymous so I didn’t get unsolicited approaches. This is the way search in the 21st century should work."

Martin McCourt, Chairman, The Glen Dimplex Group

Charles Tyrwhitt is a founder-owned, multi-channel retailer that "makes it easy for men to dress well". They were looking for an experienced CEO, who believes passionately in product, to profitably grow the business from ~£200m turnover in both the UK and international markets.

In just 17 days, the Nurole platform identified Michael Stanier, the former Senior Vice President at Adidas AG and a Nurole crowd-sourced recommendation.

"Through Nurole, we identified a diverse range of exceptional candidates with deep retail and international experience."

Chris McManus, Chief Talent Officer, Charles Tyrwhitt

The Jockey Club Live, an innovative and exciting event entertainment promoter combining live music and racing, is the UK’s 6th largest music promoter. They sought a Chair with music industry experience and a love of racing to help raise the profile of the The Jockey Club Live within the Live Music arena space.

Within two weeks Nurole identified Nicky Dunn OBE, formerly Commercial Director of the London Docklands Arena before becoming CEO of the Odyssey (now SSE) Arena in Belfast, a role she held for 10 years, before founding her own company IMD Group in 2011, providing strategic and operational advice to the leisure and entertainment industries.

"Our search for the unusual position of Chair for a JV embracing horse racing and music was proving difficult. If I had not experienced it first-hand I would never have believed an online platform was capable of delivering an extraordinary candidate with such efficiency and speed. As a consequence, Nurole will become our first call for all future searches and I would highly recommend Nurole to anyone seeking senior executives or board members."

Andrew Wilkinson, CEO & Founder, Music + Sport

The Hideaways Club, which allows members to combine luxury property investment with a luxury lifestyle, sought an experienced individual to join as a near full-time Executive Chairman before moving to a Non-Executive Chairmanship after the first year.

In four days Nurole identified Robin Edwards, a Chartered Accountant and Fund Manager who for 15 years managed one of Europe's largest global macro funds. He is Chair of Latis Homes, which is committed to building low carbon, lifetime homes designed and built to promote sustainable living, and is a former Chairman of The Queen's Club where he continues as a Trustee.

"The Nurole approach is quite unique and the quality of people on there is impressive. We had a broad response in our search for a Chairman of The Hideaways Club and Nurole helped to conclude in a most efficient and timely manner."

Helmut Schoen, Founder, The Hideaways Club

The Directors of a privately owned company, whose sole business activity is acting as Authorised Corporate Director for a c.£400m UK OEIC, sought a new Non-Executive Director and Chair. The OEIC was created over 20 years ago and portfolio management is outsourced to five UK authorised fund managers. The successful candidates needed a strong financial services regulatory background.

Within one week, Nurole identified both of the successful candidates. From the platform generated shortlist, the UK Family Office have appointed Karen Jordan as a Non-Executive Director, and Denis Chatterton as the new Chair to replace the retiring incumbent.

"We were seeking two new non-executive directors to replace our outgoing Chair and NED. Nurole came up with an extremely high-quality group of applicants which were first narrowed down to twenty, then the final seven among whom we found two perfect new colleagues. A professional approach throughout. Thank you."

CEO , Client, UK Family Office