Spectrum Board and Executive Search

Payments Leadership Dinner, 25th June 2025
2025-06-25 18:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London)
Spectrum’s annual Payments Leadership dinner takes place in central London on the evening of Wednesday 25th June. We’re delighted to be co-hosting this event again with law firm, Fox Williams.
This private dinner is open to members of Spectrum’s board community, tmtboardfinder, and to board members, Founders, CEOs, and dedicated investors in the Payments market.
Guests will have the opportunity to network with their peers over drinks, followed by a ‘Chatham House Rule’ discussion over dinner on the most pertinent topics of the day.
This is a rare opportunity to meet and exchange thoughts, ideas, and experiences with board-level, payments focused guests of Spectrum and Fox Williams.
To register your interest in attending, please contact Gemma Hubert at gemma.hubert@spectrum-ehcs.com

Discussion Dinner: EdTech Leadership Dinner, June 2025
2025-06-11 18:30 - 21:30
On the evening of 11th June in London, in partnership with independent law firm, Farrer & Co., Spectrum curated a group of board-level leaders in EdTech – Founders, CEOs, NEDs, and investors – for a peer group discussion over dinner and the opportunity to network.
Experiences were discussed. Ideas – from the tactical to the ‘blue sky’ – were explored. Perspectives – beyond the narrow confines of our focused working lives – were gained. Relationships were built.
And each year, the debate moves on as strategic imperatives evolve.
The post-pandemic EdTech ‘bounce’ has long since passed, superseded by the need to measure training data and demonstrate and prove learning outcomes. This year’s discussion centred on AI.
Key observations included:

Some are seeing AI now feature in EdTech RFPs.
Others can attribute 20% of software development to AI.
The impact of AI on EdTech enterprise valuations and investment decisions is substantial.
For some, the mention of AI reduced customer conversion (eg in the context of primary school age-focused tools).
For others, it represents an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we learn forever: from rote-based learning to commit facts to memory, to a new dawn of critical thinking and fundamental understanding.
And with all things tech in education, ensuring fair and equal access is paramount. Currently, there seems to be a huge disparity geographically and socially in the use and adoption of AI by school and university-level students (in the UK). The potential for AI to widen social divides is a clear and present danger.
The impact of AI on jobs and skills of the future was also explored.

Aside from the AI theme, this year’s discussion also focused on commercial imperatives, more so than in previous years.
The key commercial themes we explored included:

The requirement to build steadily and profitably – it’s no longer all about growth.
The market pressure to reduce the cost of content is ever present (AI has a role to play).
The approach to international growth and expansion varied considerably by organisation. For some, the primary focus was on entering and growing the US market to capture higher-value deals at a greater scale.
For others, the US market was not a core focus, instead preferring to build in UK-like school education environments, such as Australia.
Market entry was typically achieved via M&A or by recruiting a local sales team.
Tools which make educators’ lives easier – those which save them time – were seen as highly attractive in the current market.

To register your interest in attending future EdTech leadership events, please contact Gemma Hubert at gemma.hubert@spectrum-ehcs.com

Breakfast Session: from strategic intent to successful operational delivery – a facilitated event for Board Chairs & their CEOs, 9th May 2025
2025-05-09 08:00 - 10:30
Chair members of Spectrum’s board platform, tmtboardfinder, and Board Chairs in our broader network are invited to attend this complimentary session, to be accompanied by 3-4 of their CEOs.
Its purpose is two-fold:

To provide a safe environment for your CEOs to meet in person, to share perspectives, and to collaborate,
To specifically explore how best to translate strategic board intent into successful operational delivery by the management teams.

Chris Paton, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines, and advisor to the UK Cabinet and National Security Council on the Afghan strategy from 2009-2012, will lead this group session. Chris’s consultancy specialises in organisational effectiveness. His work has been published in the Harvard Business Review, and he co-produced the book ‘Purposeful People – Business Leaders Making a Difference’.
The session will run from 8.15am-10.30am in central London on Friday 9th May and will accommodate 3 Chairs, and their CEOs.
“Chris has not only been the instigator to bring together the CEOs I work with as a Chair but has been a superb facilitator in our subsequent sessions together. He has helped us openly and honestly discuss common challenges from achieving strategic alignment to empowering the team and owning succession planning. The evidence of value has been the CEOs’ insistence that we now reconvene regularly.” (tmtboardfinder member, Mark Whitby).
To find out more, or to register your interest, please contact Gemma Hubert.

Quoted Companies Alliance, The QCA City Debate, 7th May 2025
2025-05-07 18:00 - 20:00
tmtboardfinder is pleased to support the QCA’s upcoming City Debate in London: “This House believes growing companies best thrive on public markets.”
The government and the city each recognise the need for more economic growth, which means more growing companies. But where will they prosper best? On the public markets, with better governance and visibility, or backed by private capital?
On 7th May 2025, the QCA City Debate will explore both sides of the issue, offer insights into current thinking, and attempt to divine the best way forward.
Barry Gamble will chair the debate, guiding two teams of debaters as they present their cases for and against the motion. The event will be highly interactive with contributions taken from the floor and voting at the beginning and end.
For details on how to join this evening of collective discourse and networking, visit the QCA website here.

Discussion Dinner: for UK PLC board members, November 2024
2024-11-25 18:30 - 21:00 | The Lansdowne Club, London, United Kingdom
NEDs, SIDs, Chairs, and CEOs at TMT sector organisations publicly listed in the UK are warmly invited to join us for this private ‘Chatham House Rule’ discussion and networking opportunity over dinner.
Attendance is complimentary, courtesy of Spectrum’s board practice, tmtboardfinder, and our co-hosts, Edison Investment Research.
Our venue is a private dining room at a member’s club in Mayfair, and the evening runs from 6.30pm-9pm on Monday 25th November.
To register your interest in attending, please email Gemma Hubert at gemma.hubert@spectrum-ehcs.com.

Webinar for INSEAD EMBAs: The Road to Board-Level Roles in the Technology Sector, November 2024
2024-11-21 12:00 - 13:00
How do ambitious executives steadily acquire the skills and experience to best prepare and position themselves for board roles?
Daniel Osmer, Spectrum’s Managing Partner, was pleased to run a session with INSEAD’s Career Development Centre on this topic on 21st November.
Past and present EMBAs joined the webinar from around the globe.
A recording of the session is available here.

Webinar Recording: Tone from the Top, June 2024
2024-06-06 12:30 - 13:00
Leaders’ behaviour, and the signals they send, is more important than simply communicating a strategy. Why is this? How do boards monitor the tone they are setting? And how do leaders ensure they provide ethical leadership? Tone from the Top author, Ian Muir, guides us through the essentials in this 30-minute webinar.
After 30+ years developing and delivering global HR strategy programmes, Ian now works with investors, CEOs, leadership teams, and individuals to improve organisational performance. Board evaluation, executive assessment, international acquisition due diligence, improving top team effectiveness, executive mentoring, and senior HR consulting assignments have been undertaken for VCs, listed PLCs, overseas subsidiaries, private equity portfolio companies, investment banking, professional services, one of the largest financial regulators, utilities, and the not-for-profit sector.
In this seminar we will cover:

What “Tone from the Top” means
What boards can do improve culture, ethics, and behaviour
How boards can ensure that the ethical and cultural leadership they provide trickles down and pervades throughout the organisation
Whether organisational culture and behaviour improves organisational performance?
How boards can monitor behaviour
The link to reward mechanisms
Whether board selection exercises should assess ethics & behaviour
The role of organisational “purpose” and of diversity

Discussion Dinner: Coming to America - US expansion and fundraising, June 2024
2024-06-03 18:00 - 20:00
For many high-growth enterprises, there’s nowhere better to start and grow than the UK, and nowhere better to expand and raise later-stage funding than the United States. The US offers the promise of massive commercial opportunities and plentiful venture and growth capital. However, doing business and raising money in an unfamiliar, highly competitive environment requires thoughtful planning and clinical execution.
In this facilitated Q&A session over dinner, we will discuss best practices for navigating the logistical aspects of launching and operating a UK business in the States and setting and meeting expectations for US later-stage funding.
We’ll address questions, such as:
When should I consider establishing US operations?
When should I look to raise money from US VCs?
Do I need a US company to raise money from US VCs?
When do I need to create a US company?
Where is the best place to set up in the States?
How long does US set-up take and how much does it cost?
How do I sell/pitch in the US as a British/non-US founder?
How is hiring different in the US, and what’s the optimal US team?
Does everyone really sue each other all the time in the US?
Are there government resources to assist with US expansion?
The discussion will be led by Daniel Glazer, who leads the US Expansion group and London office at Silicon Valley-headquartered Wilson Sonsini. Wilson Sonsini represents more tech companies on their venture financings, M&A transactions, and IPOs than any other law firm globally. The firm is a Silicon Valley “anchor tenant,” having taken public Apple, Doordash, Google, Linkedin, Lyft, Netflix, Palantir, Roblox, Square, Twitter, and many others. Wilson Sonsini London is a US and dual-qualified UK/US team that supports UK/EU tech and life sciences companies through their US life cycle – US launch and scaling, US fundraising, and US M&A/IPO exit.

Webinar Recording: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – What Boards Need to Know, May 2024
2024-05-21 12:30 - 13:00
The Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act represents significant new legislation in the UK. What are the key implications for boards?
During this webinar, we are guided by Sebastian Sayer, a Partner at leading City law firm, Fox Williams.

The Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act has been described as the most significant UK legislation in this area; fundamentally impacting corporate governance. What is this legislation intended to do?
Which business entities are most impacted?
What are the key implications for board members concerning the organisation?
And what are the key implications for directors personally?
How is the “failure to prevent fraud” offence defined?
What is the new statutory “senior manager” test?
What are the geographical boundaries of this legislation?
When does the legislation come into force?
What steps should organisations take now?
Is there any other legislation on the horizon that board members should be aware of?

Webinar Recording: Family Offices and the TMT Sector, May 2024
2024-05-14 12:30 - 13:00 | Online
Family Offices are typically less well understood than private equity and venture capital. How do family offices view our sector, and why should we embrace the family office approach? Stonehage Fleming advises many of the world’s leading families and wealth creators, and we are delighted to be joined by Partner, Richard Hill, to gain a rare insight into this asset class.

Webinar Recording: Personal Exit Planning for CEOs and Entrepreneurs, May 2024
2024-05-07 12:30 - 13:00 | Online
CEOs and entrepreneurs tend to focus 100% on their business, and their own needs often come a distant second.
But, it’s a good idea to pre-plan for the psychological and financial transformation that a positive exit entails.
In this webinar, Ben Stern, Partner at Lincoln Private Investment Office guides us through what entrepreneurs and shareholding management should consider pre-exit, and why.

Webinar Recording: Diary of a Novice NED, 3 Years On, April 2024
2024-04-19 12:30 - 13:00 | Online
A practical guide to successfully building a board portfolio career with innovative, investor-backed technology companies. Martin Fincham’s NED “L plates” have long since been discarded – what can we learn about building and maintaining a successful plural career?

Webinar Recording: Cyber Governance for Boards, March 2024
2024-04-01 12:30 - 13:00 | Online
Cyber security is a relatively new, fast evolving, and substantial threat to organisations – and boards need to raise their game in cybersecurity oversight, but non-executives need more support to do that.
Our lead contributor is Jessica Figueras from CxB: Cyber Governance for Boards. CxB was created by a group of experienced NEDs and trustees with who were concerned to see a widespread lack of board engagement with increasingly serious cybersecurity threats.
