Judgement in practice
01Making a revenue consequence visible in product consolidation
The branch programme required the board to accept that a technically cleaner estate could include customer departures. I brought the commercial exposure into the recommendation and reported the four departures and US$2.1 million of lost annual recurring revenue alongside the twenty-eight migrations. That prevented consolidation from being described as a purely technical success. It also gave directors a way to question the nine branches that remained without assuming their continued existence was evidence of failure. In an external role, I would look for the same distinction between an intended end state and obligations that require a deliberate exception. I would ask management to explain the cost of the choice and the conditions under which it should be revisited, while leaving account negotiations and engineering implementation with the executives responsible for them.
02Accepting a narrower automation proposition
The document-assistant decision tested whether our commercial ambition would outrun our evidence. I supported a release covering two document classes and deferred the wider bookings assumption when testing showed problems in the other three. The board received the commercial cost, the review requirement and the conditions for further release. We did not offer an aggregate performance score as proof that every intended customer task was ready. As a director, I would ask whether a proposed technology investment is being assessed through the work it changes and the errors it can create. I would also ask how the customer encounters the limitation. A qualification buried in a document may not be effective if the product workflow and sales demonstration encourage a broader inference. That is a governance question about the company's promise, not only a technical question about its model.
My first year on a board
I would begin by understanding how the company describes its product, its revenue and its obligations, and where those descriptions differ. My induction would include product and commercial leaders, customer operations and the people who handle difficult implementations or incidents. I would agree these conversations with the chair and executive team so they support board understanding rather than create a separate management channel. I would also read the history of significant exceptions and acquisitions, including decisions whose original assumptions have since changed.
During the middle of the year, I would concentrate on a few questions connected to the reason for my appointment. If integration were the priority, I would examine capability transfer and the evidence behind claimed savings. If product complexity were the concern, I would ask how commercial commitments enter the roadmap and who owns the exceptions. I would seek a consistent record over time rather than request a new dashboard at every meeting.
At the annual review, I would ask the chair where my contribution had clarified a decision and where it had been too close to executive detail. The transition from leading a business to challenging another team requires discipline. I would want evidence that my questions improved oversight without making management less willing to bring uncertainty into the room.
Conflicts and their management
An external appointment would require a careful map of commercial and investment relationships. Enterprise software businesses can share customers, partners, suppliers and investors without describing themselves as competitors. I would disclose those connections before accepting the role and update the record as either organisation changed. I would not use confidential customer architectures, pricing or product plans from Nerivane in another board's deliberations.
My current directorship count is one, held as part of my executive role. I could allocate approximately twenty days annually to one external appointment, including preparation and committee work, subject to employer agreement. That capacity would need to fit the organisation's actual calendar and a reasonable allowance for exceptional events. If an acquisition or other major programme were likely to require substantially more time, I would discuss it before making a commitment. Recusal can address a discrete conflict; it cannot make an appointment useful if I am repeatedly unable to receive papers or participate in its central decisions.
My independence statement
I would provide the appointing organisation with a complete account of my executive role, financial interests and relevant customer, supplier and investor relationships. Its assessment should precede any description of my independence. I would not rely on a lack of direct competition as sufficient evidence that conflicts are absent.
Board and committee exposure
Served as a director
Nerivane Systems
Main board, executive director
January 2021–present
Leads enterprise planning, acquisition integration and product-commercial decisions for board consideration.
Presented to the Board or a committee
Nerivane Systems
Board investment review
2022–2024
Presented the Ostren acquisition integration sequence and the cost of deferring anticipated savings.
Reported to a committee
Nerivane Systems
Board risk and technology committee
2017–present
Reports contractual exceptions, implementation dependencies and evidence supporting product releases.
Presented to the Board or a committee
Arclen Foundry
Board product review
2010–2013
Explained roadmap capacity allocated through customer-specific commercial commitments.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
I have not registered in the IICA Independent Directors' Databank. My present focus is a Singapore or regional appointment; an Indian role would require a separate review of the relevant process before I considered it further.
- Board workshops on software acquisition oversight and integration evidence
- Specialist briefings on security risk and the limits of executive assurance
- Annual review of director duties and conflict processes with external advisers