Samantha (BSc (Hons), MBA, FCCA, Dip IoD) specialises in Board development, governance and the narrative reporting landscape, with emphasis on integrated thinking and reporting. She started her career in a large international bank, transitioned to a role in Treasury for a large multinational engineering business, before several years working at the London Stock Exchange. This has been followed by an extensive freelance consulting and training career, working alongside boards and senior management teams at many high-profile organisations.

Over the years, Samantha has worked with boards and their corporate advisors to review hundreds of annual reports and corporate communications. The focus of her work has been on developing and articulating the value proposition of organisations to their various stakeholders. Consulting assignments have included investor outreach programmes, perception studies, board evaluations, annual report development, key message development, best practice benchmarking and board impact training. She has led the development of internationally award-winning annual reports and governance practices. Her work has also involved her working alongside organisations involved in initiatives such as the FRC’s Financial Reporting Lab’s Business Model initiative. She has also been part of the IIRC’s specialist review panel-critique programme, regarding those reports categorised as being ‘Improvers’.

Samantha’s practical experience is complemented by her academic links to a variety of UK and international institutions. She frequently delivers lectures, seminars and master classes on topics including Governance, Strategy, Risk, Entrepreneurship and Ethics.

Samantha is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. She also has an Executive MBA from Manchester Business School (Guardian Scholarship recipient) and is a member of the Institute of Directors (IOD) and contributes to the IOD’s Expert Advisory Group – Governance. She is currently pursuing a part-time Executive Doctorate in Business Administration at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University – researching the tensions between governance and entrepreneurial boards of listed companies.

Sam is based in Birmingham and works across the UK and internationally.

Feedback from Sam’s workshops

• ‘Brilliant!’
• ‘A great overview of directors governance.’
• ‘A thought-provoking day which started a bunch of interesting conversations whilst learning.’
• ‘A must have for all companies / directors.’
• ‘Excellent­­ – really engaged with attendees and tailored the course to our organisation.’
• ‘Good introduction into being a director.’
• ‘Provided clear and concise information and opportunity for reflection.’
• ‘Good pace. Good conversations.’
• ‘Very good.’
• ‘Clear, concise and enlightening.’
• ‘Encourages one to think in detail about the overall purpose and effectiveness of the board and how this can be best achieved.’
• ‘Considered and thought-provoking.’
• ‘Knowledgeable and skilled at delivering interesting content.’
• ‘Covered a lot of areas I hadn’t even thought of.’
• ‘Engaged, listened and took on board comments and the eccentricities of the organisation and its structure.’
• ‘Comprehensive, interesting, informational / educational and thought-provoking day’s discussion providing many suggestions for how we can be a more effective board.’
• ‘Excellent, knowledgeable. Right use of questions. Provides good guidance and fresh approach. Flexible and adaptable. Good communicator and has good insight.’
• ‘Gave us a chance to talk about how we are doing things and identifying some actions we can take.’
• ‘Knowledgeable and thought-provoking.’
• ‘Good common / easy to understand first step in the role of a director – much food for thought, good seeds sown.’
• ‘Good detailed overview of board and director accountabilities and ideal areas of focus.’
• ‘Engaging, interesting and able to elicit views from attendees, even on sensitive issues.’
• ‘Good introduction into being a director.’
• ‘Held the attention of the group well. Knowledgeable.’
• ‘I hadn’t expected the strategic insight. which I thought was excellent.’
• ‘Very informative in lots of areas I’d not considered.’
• ‘Knowledgeable from experience with insight and humour, the best combo!’
• ‘Lovely open style of presenting and pulling out the salient discussion points.’
• ‘A comprehensive overview of effective governance in a manner that encourages discussion.’
• ‘Very friendly and knowledgeable about the subject topic.’
• ‘Very knowledgeable and happy to offer examples and facilitate difficult discussions.’
• ‘Excellent style and delivery with good interpersonal skills.’
• ‘Good information and thought-provoking.’
• ‘Very personable and good at getting board to share key shortfalls in knowledge and concerns.’
• ‘Great overview of how to think about becoming an effective director. Good way to begin to think differently.’