Why an independent Chair is good for business

Business leaders sometimes worry that appointing an independent Chair will result in them losing control of the scheme, with a knock-on effect on the finances of the business. In our experience the opposite is true.

We work with the sponsoring company to ensure the scheme is run efficiently and effectively for its long term success. For many companies, their pension scheme has now become a legacy issue with few active members. Despite this, it often still represents a significant business risk needing very careful handling and control.

A strong independent Chair helps ensure the right outcomes for all scheme stakeholders and avoids storing up problems for the future.

Furthermore a skilled independent Chair is often able to add significant value through:

• freeing up valuable executive trustees’ time by focussing the trustees on the key issues and introducing sub committees
• cutting and controlling costs by carefully managing advisors, asset managers and administrators – see this case study
• ensuring the scheme is well run to avoid it damaging the sustainability of the business
• reducing conflicts of interest which can become a huge burden for executive trustees

We devote significant time and effort understanding what makes the business tick. We build constructive and transparent relationships with key members of the management team such as the CFO and HR Director and we work very hard to ensure there are no surprises – see What great trustee Chairs do.

If you are thinking of appointing an independent Chair – Talk to us