What great trustee Chairs do

The roles and responsibilities of a pension scheme Chair require different skills to a company board Chair. Trustee board members often have much less experience and expertise than company board members. And trustee boards often have little or no executive team to support them and are therefore much more dependent on advisors and other third party organisations. Together these put extra demands on the trustee Chair.

We believe great trustee Chairs do five things really well. They:

Provide ‘Thought Leadership‘

Focus on the ‘Big Picture‘

Create an effective team

Work well with employers

Leverage effective support

  • Structure debates
  • Synthesise information
  • Identify solutions
  • Ask probing questions
  • Summarise and build consensus
  • Set clear objectives
  • Keep decisions consistent with objectives
  • Focus debate on key issues
  • Ensure detail is dealt with
  • Utilise trustees’ skills
  • Ensure all participate
  • Relaxed atmosphere
  • Build trustee knowledge
  • Keep meetings efficient
  • Recognise critical role of employer
  • Be transparent and open
  • Spend time with management
  • Identify common goals
  • Understand key business drivers
  • Work well with in-house team
  • Use advisors effectively
  • Tightly control support costs
  • Delegate appropriately

    • Structure debates
    • Synthesise information and identify solutions
    • Ask probing questions
    • Carefully monitor risks
    • Summarise and build consensus
    • Develop and agree strategic objectives
    • Keep decisions consistent with objectives
    • Focus debate on the key issues
    • Ensure detail is dealt with properly
    • Utilise trustees’ different skills and personalities
    • Ensure everyone participates in debates and feels supported
    • Sustain a relaxed but professional atmosphere
    • Monitor and develop trustees' knowledge and understanding
    • Keep meetings efficient and focused
    • Recognise the critical role of the sponsoring employer
    • Demonstrate transparency and openness in all interactions
    • Spend time with key members of the management team
    • Identify common goals
    • Understand key business drivers and priorities
    • Ensure the in-house support team is used effectively
    • Use advisors appropriately – focus on the right questions at the right time
    • Tightly control advisor/outsourcer costs
    • Delegate appropriately to in-house and external parties