GOVERNANCE ADVISORY

Governance that produces decisions

We advise boards, committees and shareholders in Dubai and across the GCC on how decisions are taken, reported and carried through. Independent, discreet and led by an experienced board director.

Discuss your board's priorities

Who we work with

Boards and their committees, chairs, shareholders and the executives who report to them, in organisations where governance carries real weight:

Sovereign and government-related entities and their portfolio companies
Regulated financial institutions, asset managers and fund boards
Family-owned groups preparing for the next generation or an outside investor
Listed and pre-IPO companies raising their governance standard
Multi-entity groups where decisions cross subsidiaries and borders

When boards call us

Governance rarely fails because the framework is missing. It fails when the framework stops producing decisions. These are the signs we are usually asked to look at:

Board meetings review activity, and the important decisions are taken elsewhere.
Nobody can say clearly who decides what, between the board, its committees and management.
The board pack is long, late and does not show whether strategy is on track.
A regulator, an investor, a listing or a succession now expects more than the current set-up delivers.
Capital is committed through programmes and projects the board cannot follow once approved.

See the situations we are usually called into.

Why governance pays

12 to 25 per cent

The premium institutional investors said they would pay for a well-governed company: 12 to 14 per cent in North America and Western Europe, 20 to 25 per cent in Asia and Latin America. (McKinsey, Global Investor Opinion Survey, 2002)

Higher firm value

Companies that protect shareholder rights more strongly show higher market valuations, and the same holds at country level where minority investors are better protected. (Gompers, Ishii and Metrick, 2003; La Porta et al., 2002)

Fewer surprises

Independent board oversight, clear accountability and reliable risk reporting are the core of the international reference framework used by regulators and investors. (G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, 2023)

McKinsey and Company, Global Investor Opinion Survey on Corporate Governance, 2002. Gompers, P., Ishii, J. and Metrick, A., "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices", Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2003. La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A. and Vishny, R., "Investor Protection and Corporate Valuation", Journal of Finance, 2002. OECD, G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, 2023.

What we do

Board effectiveness review

An independent view of how the board and its committees work in practice: composition, agendas, information, dynamics and follow-through.

You receive: a short findings report, a prioritised action plan and a session with the chair.

Decision rights and delegation of authority

A clear allocation of decisions between shareholders, board, committees and management, including for subsidiaries.

You receive: a decision rights matrix, an updated delegation of authority and committee terms of reference.

Governance of capital

Oversight of how capital is allocated, approved and tracked once programmes start, so the board sees whether money committed is producing the expected benefit.

You receive: an investment approval and review process, benefit tracking rules and a quarterly capital review format for the board.

Raising or organising capital? See capital structuring and investor readiness.

Board reporting and KPIs

A board pack built around the few indicators that show progress against strategy, each with an owner, a source and an agreed definition.

You receive: the KPI set, a board pack template and a reporting calendar.

Committee support

Practical support to audit, risk, investment and nomination committees on their remit, their agenda and what they should ask management.

You receive: annual committee plans, question sets and information requirements.

Technology, AI and cyber oversight

What the board needs to know, decide and monitor on technology, AI and cyber risk, without managing the technical work.

You receive: an oversight framework, reporting requirements and a board briefing.

How we work

Senior from start to finish. Every mandate is led by an experienced director who has sat on boards. Specialists from our network join for a defined scope and are named before they start.

Tailored, not templated. We start from how your board actually works, and from the regulatory and shareholder context you operate in, not from a standard framework.

Agreed with the people concerned. We consult the chair, directors, shareholders and management before proposing changes, so what is agreed is applied.

Built to last without us. Each engagement ends with your company secretary, committees and management running the new arrangements on their own.

Selected governance mandates

Mandates led by our director for boards and shareholders. Clients are not named.

Sovereign wealth fund

Governance track of a 26-initiative transformation: portfolio governance across governance, data, technology and operations, with one consolidated view for leadership.

Fund boards

Independent director role and governance support on fund boards: oversight of the management company, delegation and reporting to the board.

Family-owned group

Clarification of decision rights between family shareholders, the board and management ahead of an outside investor.

See all cases

What does your board need to decide better?

Tell us where decisions, oversight or reporting need more clarity. Conversations are confidential.