We know our approach works – 8 of our members secure a new NED role every week. This workshop shares how you can do it too.
You will come away from this highly practical session with a strategy to secure a NED role. This workshop has been specifically designed to simplify governance and, importantly, to refine your board pitch – which is what will aid you in securing the roles.
We will focus on targeting the more competitive and remunerated positions, and how to overcome the ‘experience trap’ if you do not have prior NED experience. During the session, we will also briefly consider how to best approach non-executive headhunters.
You will identify where and how to pitch yourself as a non-executive, guided by:
- Fiona Hathorn, Founder and CEO of Women on Boards UK,
- Julie Ashworth, Women on Boards Presenter and Advisor
Specifically, you will consider and receive expert advice in a limited group of your peers on:
- the role, duties and legal responsibilities of director and protecting yourself as a non-executive director;
- which type of boards will value your skills and align with your goals;
- where to find the opportunities, including how best to approach non-executive headhunters;
- what boards are looking for, in terms of both hard and soft skills;
- your individual boardroom value-add and how to pitch yourself as a prospective NED.
The workshop is practical, strategic and interactive. Participants are engaged and supported by the Women on Boards team and encouraged to make use of our wider “network of influence”.
Suited to people:
- Thinking about or already on a board
- Seeking strategic and practical advice
- Looking for an influential support network
- Looking at long-term career options

Speakers
Fiona Hathorn
CEO of WB Directors
Fiona, CEO of WB Directors, is an accomplished non-executive director and advisor across several organisations. Currently, she serves as an advisor to Peel Hunt (a mid-cap stockbroker), is the Chair of the Nominations Committee at Hanx (an FMCG start-up) and is a member of the advisory board for the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London. Fiona is a recognised expert in Governance, Regulation, and Talent Management. Previously, she was a director at Hill Samuel Asset Management, where she led the Global Emerging Markets Equity Investment Team. Additionally, she has advised the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and served as a judge for the Non-Executive Director Awards, sponsored by The Sunday Times, as well as for Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Woman and Future Awards.Julie Ashworth
Chair of The University of Aberdeen, Chair of The IoD Scotland, Women on Boards Presenter and Advisor.
Julie is Chair of the Board of the University of Aberdeen and Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Scotland, an Advisory Board member for the Scottish Business Network and was recently appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the board of ICAS.
She has previously held non-executive roles with George Watson’s College and the Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh among several others, and spent 3 years as Chair of an award winning retail tech start-up. .
Julie is CEO of Broadreach, providing specialist leadership consulting services to global blue-chip companies. Julie works extensively as an Executive Mentor and coach with various FTSE 100 companies. She has held Retail Director roles with Liberty of London and Punch Taverns and was Executive Partner at IBM with responsibility for retail across EMEA and the US. She began her corporate career with Tesco, leaving her role as a senior executive to compete in the Round the World Yacht race.
Julie lives in Edinburgh and is our Women on Boards Lead for Scotland. Julie leads Women on Boards’ ‘Getting to the C-Suite’ Leadership programme and delivers different types of our Board CV support offer and mentoring.
