How to appoint a NED — without the theatre.

Most first NED appointments go wrong before anyone is interviewed — because the business hired a person instead of filling a role. This is the process that avoids that: eight steps, roughly six to ten weeks, no theatre.

Step 1 — Define the job before the person

Write one page: the three decisions the board faces in the next eighteen months, the experience gap around the table, and what "good" looks like in a year. If you can't write it, you're not ready to appoint — run the Board Maturity Score first and fix the machinery the page reveals.

Step 2 — Write a specification, not a wish list

Specialists beat generalists for a first appointment. "A NED who has scaled a £5–25m services business through an MBO" is recruitable; "an experienced business leader" is a dinner party. Include the honest time expectation (typically one to two days a month) and the fee range you mean to pay.

Step 3 — Source from the right pools

Seats rarely move through job adverts. The productive routes: your investors' and advisers' networks, the institutes (IoD, NEDonBoard), and curated portfolio networks — it's exactly what the MAXFR Network exists for. Cast for three to five credible conversations, not thirty CVs.

Step 4 — Interview for questions, not war stories

Give every candidate the same short pack — last board papers, headline numbers — and listen to what they probe. The best predictor of NED value is the quality of their questions about cash, customer concentration and the thing you're avoiding. War stories tell you where they've been; questions tell you what they'll do at your table.

Step 5 — References and conflicts, properly

Take references from a CEO they've challenged, not just a chair they've pleased — and ask the only question that matters: "Would you appoint them again?" Then declare conflicts both ways: their other seats, your competitors, any supplier or investor relationships. In writing, before terms.

Step 6 — Terms in a letter of appointment

One letter covers: role and time commitment, fee and review date, term (typically three years, renewable), notice, confidentiality, conflicts process, and D&O insurance confirmation. UK SME fees commonly run £15,000–£40,000 a year — the full market picture is in the fees guide.

Step 7 — Onboard like you mean it

Before the first meeting: the numbers walkthrough with whoever owns them, two customer conversations, time with the senior team, and the last six months of minutes. A NED who starts informed challenges from week one instead of month four.

Step 8 — The first cycle, then a real review

Agree the first ninety days in writing, then book a six-month review both sides can use honestly. The failure modes — the friend who can't challenge, the trophy who won't prepare, the executive who starts managing — are all caught early by a review that actually happens.

The timeline at a glance