People who have run things
Our advisors have built, scaled and led businesses themselves. You get judgement from experience, not frameworks from a slide deck.
Senior advisory partners
Senior partners, alongside your business.
Board Partners gives growing businesses and enterprise teams direct access to senior partners in strategy, engineering, sales, commercial, enterprise and technology. Engage the one partner you need, bring in several, or hire a full advisory board.
- One partner or several
- Six areas of senior expertise
- Fees agreed before work starts
Partner session
Commercial partner · Monthly · Example agenda
- Actions from last sessionOwner, status and next date
- Pricing model reviewMargins at each volume band
- Framework bid: go or no goRisks, contract terms and win themes
- IntroductionsTwo buyer conversations to set up
- Decisions and next stepsLogged for your leadership team
Notes issued within 48 hoursConfidential
Why Board Partners
Senior expertise, without the full-time hire.
Most businesses can't afford a permanent bench of senior directors, and most enterprise teams can't move fast enough to assemble one. We provide that bench. Take one partner for one problem, or several when the stakes are higher.
The right partner for the problem
You choose the expertise you need. Your partner works directly with you, and brings in others from the bench when the problem calls for it.
A governed standard
Board Partners is backed by Applied Collective, so every engagement works to the same standards for confidentiality, conflicts, quality and records.
Engagements
Three ways to work with us.
Most clients start with one partner. Some add more, or hire a full board when they need senior challenge across the whole business.
Monthly or day rate
One Partner
Monthly retainer or by the day
Engage just the partner you need: one senior advisor from a single area of expertise, working directly with you.
- Choose from any of the six areas of expertise
- A regular monthly commitment, or days as needed
- Advice and hands-on support with bids, pricing, technology or deals
- Add more partners or a full board at any time
Best for: a gap in your senior team, or one deal or problem that needs one expert.
Retainer
Board for Hire
6 or 12 months
A chair plus three or four advisors matched to your business, meeting on a regular rhythm.
- Monthly 90-minute board sessions
- A quarterly half-day on direction
- Board pack, decision log and action tracker
- One-to-one access to your chair between sessions
Best for: growth, transformation or a period where you need senior challenge every month.
Fixed fee
Board Review
3 to 4 weeks
An independent look at your business, or one major opportunity, through all six areas of expertise.
- Interviews with your leadership team
- A written view from each area of expertise
- An overall recommendation and a 90-day plan
- A findings session with the review board
Best for: a decision point, a new venture, or deciding whether you need a board at all.
Fees depend on board size and cadence. We agree them with you in writing before any work begins.
Six areas of expertise
Every question a good board should ask.
Each area brings its own question. Together they test whether a plan is worth doing, will work, will sell and will pay. Engage the partner you need, or bring several together.
Strategy
Is this worth building?
Direction, scaling, governance and leadership.
Engineering
Will it work in the real world?
Buildability, installation, supply chain and long-term support.
Sales
Who buys it, and why now?
Routes to market, named prospects and account growth.
Commercial
Do the numbers work?
Deal structure, pricing, contracts, margin and cash flow.
Enterprise
Does the solution fit the problem and the person?
Decision makers, sponsors and the path to a yes.
Technology
Is the technology an enabler or a risk?
Platforms, data, digital delivery and technical due diligence.
How it works
From first conversation to first session in a month.
A light, regular rhythm that fits around your leadership team, with everything recorded so nothing relies on memory.
Conversation
We talk through where the business is, what you need and whether a review or a board fits best.
Match
We propose the partner, or partners, matched to your sector and challenge, and check for conflicts of interest.
Agree
Terms of reference, confidentiality and fees are agreed in writing. You meet your partner before anything starts.
Start
Your first session sets the priorities, and the log of decisions and actions begins.
Monthly
Working session
Performance, opportunities, decisions and actions.
Quarterly
Half-day on direction
Strategy, priorities and the year ahead.
In between
Direct line to your partner
A sounding board when decisions can't wait.
Who it's for
Built for founders and for enterprise teams.
The same senior partners work at both ends of the market. What changes is the question they are answering.
Growing businesses
For owners and CEOs who need senior challenge and support without hiring a full executive team.
- Preparing to scale, raise investment or sell
- Entering a new market or launching a product
- Bidding for larger, more demanding clients
- Putting governance in place before you need it
Enterprise and regulated teams
For directors and transformation leads who need independent, senior input on a programme or venture.
- Testing a new service, venture or operating model
- Independent challenge on major investment decisions
- Technical and commercial due diligence
- Steering transformation and digital change
Sectors we know well
- Water
- Facilities management
- Infrastructure
- Regulated services
- Technology and SaaS
- Engineering
Governance
Clear about what advisory support is.
Your partners advise and challenge. Your directors stay in charge. These terms are written into every engagement.
| A Board Partners engagement is | It isn't |
|---|---|
| Advice that recommends, challenges and introduces | A seat on your statutory board, with directors' legal duties or authority |
| Bound by confidentiality from the first conversation | Free to share your information outside the board |
| Open about conflicts of interest, recorded on a register | Able to advise you where an advisor is conflicted |
| Paid on terms agreed in writing before work starts | A source of surprise invoices or open-ended fees |
| Clear that your IP and your outputs stay yours | A route for advisors to take ownership of your ideas |
We recommend. Your business decides.
Start a conversation
Tell us where your business is heading.
A first conversation is free and confidential. We'll tell you honestly whether one partner, a board or neither is right for you.