The Executive Blog

Guidance for boards and the people they appoint

Founders, chairs, investors and executives ask us the same questions again and again. When does a growing business need its first CFO or a full-time CEO? What should a COO earn? Is a fractional executive enough, or is it time for a permanent appointment? We publish our answers here, in plain English and grounded in the searches we run every week.

Articles are written by founder Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the ICAEW, and our search team. They cover leadership hiring and succession, executive compensation and equity, board and non-executive appointments, private equity and family offices, technology leadership and Senior Manager Function appointments in regulated firms, and we update them when the rules or the market change.

For boards and investors, we cover how to scope a senior role, what to pay, how to assess candidates and take references, and when interim or fractional leadership makes more sense than a permanent hire. For executives, we cover interviews, offers and equity, notice and restrictive covenants, and the move from an executive career to a board portfolio. We also follow the regulatory changes that shape senior hiring, from the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to the UK Corporate Governance Code.

New to the topic? Start with one of our core guides, or use the search and topic filters above to find what you need.

About the Exec Capital blog

Exec Capital is a specialist executive search firm and one of the five specialist firms of FD Capital Group. We appoint CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CTOs, Managing Directors, commercial and HR leaders, non-executive directors and Senior Manager Function holders on a permanent, interim and fractional basis across the UK, from our offices in London and the West Midlands.

Hiring for your leadership team? See our executive search services and the C-suite roles we recruit. Looking for a role? Register as a candidate or browse live executive jobs.