Board & Advisory
Board-level work for PE-backed and founder-led software companies.
Non-executive director, chair, and operating-partner engagements with businesses navigating institutional ownership.
Mat takes a small number of concurrent board appointments where he can be genuinely additive: an active board member who reads the management pack properly, challenges product and engineering strategy with first-hand knowledge, and supports founders through the specific pressures of institutional ownership.
The typical client is a £5m–£50m revenue B2B software business, post-buyout or recently institutionally backed, often founder-led, and at the stage where the board needs to step up — both in governance and in the quality of challenge it offers the CEO.
Roles available
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Non-Executive Director
Standard PE-portfolio NED appointments. Eight to twelve days per year, board meetings, committee work, and between-meeting founder and CEO support.
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Independent Chair
For portfolio companies that need an experienced chair to manage shareholder dynamics, run an effective board, and act as a sounding board for the CEO. Most relevant for businesses post-Series B or post-buyout where governance needs to step up.
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Senior Independent Director
Where a credible independent voice is needed between executive and investor directors, particularly in businesses with mixed founder and PE shareholder bases.
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Operating Partner / Venture Partner
Engagements with PE and growth funds, working across multiple portfolio companies on technical due diligence, value-creation planning, AI transformation roadmaps, and selective interim executive support.
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Board Advisor
For earlier-stage businesses that do not yet need a formal NED but want regular, structured access to senior operator perspective.
What Mat brings
A board contribution grounded in having actually run a venture-backed software business — not observed one.
- Fifteen years as founder-CEO of an EIS-backed B2B software business.
- Direct experience of EIS investor dynamics, institutional rounds, and hostile shareholder situations.
- A £20m OEM licence transaction with AWS.
- Material M&A experience across four companies.
- Current operator-level depth in agentic AI and modern software architecture.
- A relevant network across mid-market PE and software-focused growth investors.
Common questions
How many concurrent board roles do you take?
Deliberately few. The practice is capped so that every client receives genuine operator-level attention — this is not a portfolio career built on volume.
Do you charge a standard NED fee?
Fees are agreed per engagement and reflect the scope, stage, and demands of the business. They are discussed openly at first contact.
Will you do international roles?
Yes. Unusually for a UK-based non-executive, Mat actively welcomes international portfolio roles and is travel-friendly.
Do you take equity in lieu of fees?
This can be discussed where it sensibly aligns the relationship — particularly with founder-led businesses. It is considered case by case.
Discuss a board role
If you are an investor or founder considering a non-executive or chair appointment, get in touch to start a conversation.