Altair launches service to boost Board effectiveness

Monday 22 July 2019

Independent director services business Altair has launched a new service aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of Boards based in the Channel Islands.

The new service will be delivered by newly recruited specialist consultants Ian White and Clare Chalmers, both of whom have extensive experience of working with Boards of FTSE 250 UK organisations in all areas, including financial services.

By offering a tailored approach, the new service will enable firms and Boards in Guernsey and Jersey, including fund administrators, service providers and other financial services firms, to independently review the structure, governance and effectiveness of their Boards, with a view to ultimately providing a practical report to help directors improve on their collective performance and improve the way their Board operates.

A specialist practitioner on board effectiveness, evaluation, development, diversity and corporate governance, Ms Chalmers has had an extensive career in investment banking with companies such as BZW and Credit Suisse, during which she has devised management and client audit systems and metrics for measuring progress against global strategic goals. She has worked as a Board evaluation consultant and Board adviser since 2007, assisting companies from the financial services sector as well as the broader private, public, government and not-for-profit sectors.

Meanwhile, Mr White, a qualified lawyer, has worked for a management consultancy and with in-house legal teams and coaching executives, has been the Chief Legal Officer or Company Secretary for listed and major private companies, and has undertaken numerous board evaluations for FTSE 100 and 250, private, public and not-for-profit organisations. He has run courses on corporate governance and the role of the Board at institutions such as Ashridge Business School, the Institute of Directors (IoD) and for various regulators.

Mr White said: “Independent Board evaluation is now a common feature of many Boards of Directors and has become a vital tool in enabling them to enhance both their own performance and that of their businesses. Guernsey and Jersey are home to some complex, cutting-edge organisations but of course the landscape never stays still and drawing on an external evaluator can really help take a Board to the next level.”

Commenting on the new service, Andreas Tautscher, CEO of Altair, said: “Our ultimate aim is to support companies by enabling them to enhance their corporate governance and oversight credentials. Particularly as we work through the impacts of constant change in the regulatory landscape, including the recently introduced economic substance requirements, giving firms in the islands access to experts of the calibre of Ian and Clare will be invaluable.”

Pictured top: Ian White and Clare Chalmers.