Philip had an excellent wealth of experience & practical knowledge of a wide number of industries and was really warm & welcoming- An asset to the course!
Thank you for the interesting session on 
As someone who is looking to move into a Non-Executive Director role I found Excellencia's 
The course was a really thorough grounding in what it means to be a non-exec director and how you can apply your knowledge and skills to the role to good effect. The combination of useful information about corporate governance and directors' liabilities, a very experienced and insightful course lead in the form of David Doughty, and practical exercises about how to address particular situations that NEDs can expect to face made for a very interesting session, but also one which was directly applicable to my new role.
Having attended this course in the last few months I can confirm its value. Having held NED roles in my favoured area of engineering and manufacturing David opens the mind to the potential of other sectors and using ones transferable skills. Have set a strategy for personnel growth as NED – if I could just stop getting interim assignments
I recently attended the Excellencia one-day course on 
I can thoroughly recommend this very well structured and informative course. It provides an excellent introduction to the remit, capabilities and attributes of NEDs.
David's 
Unlike many courses I have attended in the past, 
Well structured and informative course with plenty of time/room for group discussions. Ideal for anyone looking at NED roles.
I can thoroughly recommend this course and David. As well as meeting interesting colleagues, a great way to understand compliance, personal capabilities and skills needed to fulfil a NED role. A helpful and well structured intro into the NED world.
Well worth the time! Duncan has packed a lot of information into the course, which reminded me of all the things I should be thinking about, and doing something about in my own business, and also sent me away with some action items. Highly recommended!
I can recommend this course, it is very informative and will confirm research, skill requirements, responsibilities and legal obligations for a successful NED (NXD) role. Good interaction, networking with delegates and time for Q&A.
The course was well constructed and delivered by David who has extensive knowledge of a range of boards, their structure and governance. It was particularly helpful to me as I am new to applying for NED roles and the guidance made me totally rethink what is required from the application process – i.e. this is not an operational role! The delegate group was of a suitable size to allow for interaction and sharing of ideas and experience
I attended this course shortly after starting my first Non-Executive Director role and found David’s expertise and insight to be invaluable. The course also covers practical things such as how to go about finding Non-Executive Director roles – and so last week (6 months after I attended the course) I started my second NED role, and have an interview for a third one next week. I can highly recommend attending this course for current or aspiring NEDs.
This one day course is an excellent overview, providing real advice and very helpful information for those Directors who are interested in developing a non-exec portfolio
I attended the 19th July course in Bristol and found it to be very informative. Not only was there a wealth of technical information provided but there were numerous case studies - based on real incidents - which were really thought provoking.I would happily recommend this course to anybody who is considering taking up the challenge of being a Non-Executive Director
I had the pleasure of attending a recent 
Helpful and fulsome in opening up the channel of Non-Executive Director as a career path. I know considerably more about what is required and expected now and, of real practical benefit, how to go about seeking and finding a rewarding role as an NED. Highly recommended.
David Doughty’s obvious experience and credibility, the course material and structure and the quality of attendees meant that the course was worth every penny. I now have a full appreciation of the many balls to be juggled in order to become a successful Non-Executive Director
I thought the course was enlightening and very rich in content. I particularly liked the balance of case study analysis with emphasis on a NED's key responsibility. It was well structured and I'm sure I speak on behalf of all those who were present, when I say that the course offers a great deal of value to any aspiring or even existing NED who wants to make a success of their role
I found the course very helpful, as I wanted to understand in detail what a NED role entailed. I felt that I gained enough information not only to decide if this was the sort of role that I would be interested in, but also to be able to function in such a role. The guidance on seeking appointments was an added bonus. It was also an interesting day with a varied group of delegates and I would happily recommend it.
One of our NEDworks subscribers recently sent us an e-mail asking where all the well-paid, private sector NED roles are?
There were just three private sector vacancies last month .. Is that all the vacancies from across the whole country? Am I missing something here?
If it is, what are you doing to improve this position as it is hard to believe that this represents the market for NED roles for the UK?
The truth is that the vast majority of private sector businesses do not have any NEDs at all and those that do rarely advertise vacancies – preferring to select from known associates and trusted advisors.
That is why most of the vacancies which are advertised are from the public and voluntary sectors – and competition for those is very keen.
Most of our members who have secured private sector NED roles have done so through the tried and tested route of working with businesses as a consultant, coach or mentor in order to establish themselves as trusted advisors before then naturally progressing to the board.
Despite what some of the other NED networks will tell you there is no secret seam of lucrative private sector NED roles that only they can unlock
What we advise is to establish yourself as an experienced NED on a public or voluntary sector board (many of which these days are paid roles) whilst cultivating your network of private sector businesses.
So here are some Dos and Don'ts to help you get started in finding your ideal NED role:
Do
- Find out exactly what is involved in being a Non-Executive Director, Trustee or Governor. Even if you have served as an executive board member it pays to brush up on your knowledge of Corporate Governance - the Excellencia How to become a Non-Executive Director course is an excellent place to start (you can compare NED courses on the NEDworks website)
- Spend some time on your CV and letter of application - being a Non-Executive Director requires a different skill-set to your executive roles so a NED CV will be different - there is advice on writing a CV on the NEDworks web-site
- Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and features any current or previous NED, Trustee or Governor roles you have had.
- Spend time on your LinkedIn profile statement and headline
- Expand your LinkedIn network - abandon any idea of only connecting with people you know well or have met in person - upload your contacts to LinkedIn and connect with as many as you can. Accept invitations from recruiters - especially those that specialise in NED roles.
- Search your LinkedIn network for contacts who already have NED roles and message them to ask how they got them - particularly private sector roles.
- Take up the opportunity to speak with the Chair or recruiter if it is offered - it is an opportunity to find out more about the role and you will be remembered when it comes to shortlisting for interview
Don't
- Restrict yourself to only considering private sector roles - public and voluntary sector roles are advertised much more often, public sector sector NED roles are often remunerated at similar levels to the majority of private sector roles and public and voluntary sector roles offer excellent Corporate Governance experience.
- Assume that because you have had a successful executive career you will be a shoe-in for a NED role - there are many more applicants for NED roles than there are positions available even for pro-bono roles so it pays to take applications seriously with a well-written CV and letter of application.
- Be put-off if you don't get an interview after your first few applications - persistence is required in order to secure the right role. Always ask for feedback after an unsuccessful interview to help you with the next application.
- Underestimate the time commitments for a NED role - where an advert says 1 to 2 days a month you can double or treble that figure in order to do the job properly especially if it is your first NED appointment - being a Non-Executive Director involves much more than just turning up for the board meeting and trying to read the board-pack as you go - most of the work is done outside the board-room and you need to allow sufficient time.
- Think that you can replace your executive salary with NED fees. Recruiters will tell you that you can typically earn £1,000 per day as a NED which sounds reasonable but you can only realistically take on between 3 and 5 NED appointments at any one time and the time commitment is likely to be much more than advertised (see above)
Being a Non-Executive Director can be extremely rewarding, emotionally engaging and intellectually stimulating, especially as part of a portfolio career but it does require a significant investment of time and effort to establish a NED career.
Well-paid, private sector, NED roles are out there but there is no magic short-cut or secret path to finding them.
Good luck with your search, let me know if I can help you along the way and here's to making 2020 the year you take the first steps in your NED career.
David Doughty [email protected]
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