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Insights for boards and senior leaders
The Executive Blog
Practical articles on hiring and leading at the top of a business: C-suite and board appointments, executive pay, fractional and interim leadership, and Senior Manager roles in FCA-regulated firms.
All articlesFCA and SMF rolesBoards and NEDsCEOs and MDsCFOs and finance leadersTechnology leadersFractional and interimHiring and successionPE and family offices
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.
Start here
Executive salary guide →What C-suite and director roles pay across the UK. What is a fractional executive? →How part-time C-suite leadership works and what it costs. CEO succession planning →A practical guide for UK boards. SMF roles guide →Every Senior Manager Function, and who needs approval.FCA and SMF roles
Showing 1–12 of 55
The Authorisation Journey: Building an SMF Team From ScratchA firm applying for FCA authorisation is not only building a business — it is assembling a senior management team the regulator…Read more →
Can One Person Hold More Than One SMF? Combining Senior Manager RolesAt a smaller regulated firm, the question comes up almost immediately: does every Senior Management Function need its own person, or can…Read more →
SMF4: The Chief Risk Officer Function and Why Independence Defines ItThe Chief Risk Officer is the Senior Management Function the regulator relies on to be the independent check inside a firm. SMF4…Read more →
SMF3: What the Executive Director Function Means at a Regulated FirmAt an FCA-regulated firm, sitting on the board is not the same as holding a board title at an unregulated company. An…Read more →
SMF20 and SMF23: The Insurance Senior Manager Functions ExplainedThe Senior Managers and Certification Regime applies to insurers as well as to FCA-regulated firms, but insurers have their own set of…Read more →
SMF16 vs SMF17: When You Need One, Both, or a Combined Roleuently confused Senior Management Functions are SMF16 and SMF17. Both sit in the compliance and financial-crime space, both are required at most…Read more →
SMF1 Explained: What Changes When You Hire a CEO for a Regulated FirmHiring a chief executive is the most consequential appointment any business makes. At an FCA or PRA-regulated firm it is also a…Read more →
Hiring an SMF2-Approved CFO: What the Chief Finance Function Really DemandsWhen a regulated firm hires a chief financial officer, it is not only appointing its most senior finance leader. It is appointing…Read more →COO Recruitment at Fintechs: SMF24 Considerations in Scale-Up EnvironmentsFor a scaling fintech, the point at which it needs a genuine Chief Operating Officer — and the point at which that…Read more →
The Boundary Between SMF24 and Operational SMFs: Hiring the Right COO at a Regulated FirmThe SMF24 Chief Operations function is one of the more misunderstood Senior Management Functions. It sits at the intersection of operations, technology…Read more →
Insurer and Insurance Intermediary Senior Hiring: The Lloyd’s Market and FCA DimensionSenior hiring in insurance sits at a more complex regulatory intersection than almost any other financial services sector. An insurer may be…Read more →
Fintech Senior Hiring Under FCA Authorisation: Scaling Governance Without Slowing GrowthFor a fintech, becoming FCA-authorised changes the senior hiring brief overnight. A business that scaled on speed, product instinct and a flat…Read more →Knowledge Centre
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Structured guides that bring the best material together by topic. See the full Exec Capital Knowledge Centre and our Insights.
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.
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