Webinars

May 2024

Risk, Dissent and Decision Making

This webinar looks at the vital topic of how boards can deal with disagreement and conflict; the different methods of decision-making, and the level of challenge and dissent undertaken by, and levelled at the board. A good board needs to be able to have difficult discussions and to disagree.


The webinar covers four sections:

  • Diversity vs Dissent
  • Emotional Framework
  • Beyond the Risk Register
  • Challenge


Our panel of experts draw on real, anonymised experiences of situations they have come across when carrying out board reviews and the advice they give is practical and pragmatic.

November 2023

The Impact Of Board Relationships

This webinar looks at what makes for effective challenge, the dynamics of the relationship between the Chair and the CEO, the difficulties that can be experienced when transitioning from an executive to a non-executive director and how the non-executive directors and the executive can work together to get the most out of each other's skill and expertise.

The webinar covers four sections:

  • Effective Challenge
  • The relationship between the Chair and the CEO
  • The evolution from being an executive to a non-executive director
  • The relationship between executives and non-executive directors


Our panel of experts draw on real, anonymised experiences of situations they have come across when carrying out board reviews and the advice they give is practical and pragmatic.


September 2023

The role of the charity trustee has never been more complex or, arguably, more important. This webinar looks at Trustee Boards and the issues they are having to grapple with on a daily basis.  Patrick Dunne OBE and Helen Baker DL are both hugely knowledgeable trustees.


In this lively and interactive webinar, they share their own personal views and

experiences and look at topics such as:

  • How can charity boards adjust in general to a more volatile world? 
  • Why is it so important to have clarity of authority and how to achieve that?
  • How do you bring the right people onto the board?
  • How do you get the balance right with getting the best value from the time trustees give to the charity, what is most impactful and how do you get the best bang for your buck?
  • How do the trustees know what’s happening within the rest of the organisation, what are the barriers to them getting accurate and comprehensive information?
  • How does a charity board get assurance?



April 2023

This webinar is aimed at Chairs of boards and board committees, non-executive directors, executive directors and company secretaries - all of whom have to navigate the intricacies of boardroom operation. 


The webinar is in four sections covering:

  • Chairing boards and committees - how does the Chair effectively create the right culture and manage the dynamics so that the board can be truly value creating?
  • Managing the principal stakeholder relationships - what does the effective Chair need to do outside of board meetings to ensure the board works well? And how is communication best managed with often competing stakeholder groups?
  • Key board relationships - The Chair has to build and maintain a number of relationships inside and outside the boardroom - for example, with the CEO, SID, NEDs, executives as well as more junior colleagues. How is this best managed?
  • Succession Planning - what is the Chairs role in one of the boards most important tasks: succession planning? How does the Chair recruit for a truly diverse board while ensuring the right skills and best dynamics are maintained?


The presenters draw on anonymised examples and good practice from boards of PLCs, public sector organisations, privately-held companies and charities.

 October 2022

This webinar is for anyone involved in the commissioning of a board evaluation project -

Chairs, Senior Independent Directors, Company Secretaries and other interested parties. 


The webinar is in four sections covering:

  • Getting the planning and scope right - how to ensure that you set clear objectives and specify the scope of the work at the contracting stage to get the most added value from an evaluation (beyond a simple check of Code compliance) and what are the pitfalls to avoid
  • Choosing the best approach for your situation - considering the pros and cons of questionnaires, interviews, direct observations, and balancing quantitative and qualitative methods
  • Asking the right questions in the right way - opening up conversations with board members to generate the most useful new insights into how to improve the efficiency of the machinery that supports your board, and the effectiveness of board interactions and decision-making
  • Developing a good action plan - how to best engage a board in a discussion of the recommendations from an evaluation and so take ownership of an action plan which facilitates the necessary change. And how to follow-up and external evaluation with internal monitoring of developments


The presenters draw on anonymised examples and good practice from boards of PLCs, public sector organisations, privately-held companies and charities.

November 2021

This webinar looks at how charity boards have needed to adapt to the world since the Covid pandemic started. Boards have had to become much more agile, decision-making has had to become more dynamic and boards have had to work under pressure and at pace. So how can a charity board cope with this whole new dynamic?


Our two expert speakers, Patrick Dunne and Helen Baker, share their own knowledge and practical experiences of how the charity boards they chair have developed and adapted.


In a relaxed and informal discussion they discuss a broad range of topics including:

  • How do boards make good decisions?
  • The increased need for boards and trustees to be really data savvy
  • The relationship between the executive team, especially the CEO, and the board
  • How charity boards are changing their composition, the impact of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Dealing with the plethora of regulators



December 2020

What impact has the pandemic had on the role of HR and the relationship between the HR Director and the board?


What is the board’s role in addressing the People issues which so deeply affect culture and performance?

 

Patrick Dunne, Chair and author of "Boards" and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco,

discuss the shifting nature of the relationship between the board and HR.

November 2020

Remuneration In The Pandemic

About half of FTSE 100 companies cut executive pay during the pandemic, according to a

recent report in the FT. And more than 40% of annual bonus plans included metrics linked to ESG measures such as health and safety, sustainability, and risk and compliance targets compared to about 20% the year before.


Listen to this engaging webinar where Patrick Dunne, chair and author of "Boards" and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco, as they discuss the new landscape for remuneration with renowned expert Sean O’Hare from Boardroom Dialogue.



October 2020

Patrick Dunne and Alison Gill, based on their experiences of working through the pandemic with various boards, take a deep dive into the relationship between the CEO and the board, as well as the joys and issues to think about if you need to change CEO.


Patrick and Ali consider this and other key issues and provide their own answers and advice.

September 2020

Based on their experiences of working through the pandemic with various boards, Patrick Dunne and Ali Gill discussed current developments directors need to be aware of and think about including stakeholder engagement.


Stakeholder engagement has always been important, but never more so than now and it is not just about accountability and reporting, it is about value creation. What is the point of having a stakeholder management strategy? How can directors ensure they are looking after all the various stakeholders, employees, suppliers, customers, investors and

regulators? 


Patrick and Ali consider this and other key issues and provide their own answers and advice.

July 2020

During this webinar Patrick Dunne and Alison Gill took a topical look at what has happened with companies and boards during the COVID-19 pandemic and shared their personal experiences of how boards reacted or were pro-active in dealing with the situation and shared practical tips based on current best practice.


We looked at the boards relationships with key stakeholders - within the

organisation, with customers and suppliers and with the regulators.

June 2020

Continuing our popular series of discussions in association with Bvalco, Patrick Dunne, Chair and author of "Boards", and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco, discussed how Boards can reset the relationship between themselves, the Executive and the rest of the Organisation for the future.


May 2020

Building Boards Back Better - It's more Than Just About Covid-19

Patrick Dunne, Chair and author of ‘Boards’ and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco, looked at how boards should address the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of developments since the second webinar.


As Patrick mentioned the next looming crisis, which will be even bigger than the pandemic if we don’t take adequate steps to deal with it, is Climate Change and we are delighted that we were joined by a guest speaker from Chapter Zero, Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, to look specifically at how boards should be preparing for that as well and the practical steps they can take now.

May 2020

This webinar is a discussion between Patrick Dunne, Chair and author of "Boards", and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco, where they discuss how boards prepare coming out of crisis

April 2020

What does Covid-19 Mean For Boards?

Patrick Dunne, Chair and author of "Boards", and Alison Gill, CEO of Bvalco, have a discussion about what boards learnt during the pandemic

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