What Makes an Excellent Chairman? A conversation with Ram Gidoomal CBE
To help us think about this question, we recently had a conversation with Ram Gidoomal CBE. Ram has chaired multiple organisations, including Stewardship, Traidcraft plc, The Lausanne Movement, Imperial College Student Union and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education for England and Wales. We wanted to listen to the wisdom that Ram has developed over many years of chairing boards both in the profit and not-for-profit sectors. What follows is a summary of parts of our conversation.
Six Pitfalls of Charity Boards
It takes courage and effort to steward the growth and development of any charity. Ensuring that the board of trustees provide an appropriate level of expertise, challenge, scrutiny and support will be fundamental to a charity’s success, or failure.
A Global Search
The International Director of Langham Partnership is the most senior executive in the organisation. The role involves overseeing and coordinating Langham’s work globally. It was essential for us to find a leader who was highly skilled in building cross-cultural relationships, coordinating and leading change in a global and matrixed organisation.
Supporting a bank as it transitions and grows
Kingdom Bank is a Christian bank, aiming to use money for good. When we first started talking to Kingdom Bank, the organisation was facing a significant and exciting time of transition. The new owners had ambitious growth plans and the existing Chief Executive was due to retire in the coming months. We were excited to be invited by the Board to work with them to identify the new Chief Executive.
A Trustee Search for a Children's Charity
Spurgeons cares for some of the most vulnerable children in the UK and remains motivated by a Christian faith. The work is vitally important, and we were honoured to be asked by the Chair to support the Board in recruiting three new Trustees.
The dangers of hiring like minded trustees
When it comes to the complex issues faced by Boards today, breadth and depth of insight, innovation and wisdom are paramount. This level of cognitive ability cannot come from any individual alone, rather the wisdom of the team is required.