What are your best tips in the search for an exciting board role?
Board work is fantastically stimulating and educational, I highly recommend it as an occupation if you are interested in companies and business development. If you want to work with board work, I think you should tell others about it. It is easier to be asked if people around you know what you want. There are several board lists and board networks that you can position yourself through, social media is also a good way. I also think that you should get a quality board education, many people who participate in board work today do not actually have it and it reduces the quality of the board work. For example, it can be a challenge to maintain the boundary between operational and strategic issues.

What is the biggest challenge of working on boards in your experience?
I see few challenges with the job itself as a board worker, it is usually both interesting and fun! But one problem can be that meetings pile up in certain months. In September and November, we in the board industry can roll up our sleeves; in October, on the other hand, we can take it a little easier. Individual companies, on the other hand, can find themselves in difficult and even more difficult situations, and as a board member, you always have a great responsibility for the business and to support the management. At the beginning of the pandemic, I had many extra board meetings to try to get a grip on how the restrictions were affecting businesses, what financial resilience was available and what responsibilities a company and employer have to prevent the spread of infection.

What are the most important skills to become a successful board chair?
A board is only as good as its chair! A good chairperson is a good leader, moderator and organizer, making sure that everyone has their say. He or she is also ahead of the curve and in close contact with the CEO so that the work of the board can be quickly adapted depending on the support and input that the operational business currently needs.

Finally, do you have any dream board assignments out there?
I think several of my current positions are real dream positions. But I would love to be on the board of a business that consistently doubles or triples its turnover annually, I would like to test my leadership philosophies when things are moving so fast that my hair is flat against my head.