Unlocking Growth: Do We Really Need a Chair?

13th May 2025

“Do we really need a Chair?” 

It’s a fair question, and one we often hear from founders during the investment process. After all, you’ve built your business without one so far, and it’s working.

But in our experience across nearly forty investments in software and data businesses, the right Chair can be transformative. They create space for founders to lead more effectively, focus on what matters, and make high quality decisions as the business scales.

In this edition of our Unlocking Growth series, Ben Cole, Director at FPE, shares why we encourage founders to think about appointing a Chair early, and the six areas where great Chairs can help you unlock both business and personal growth.

Taking on private equity investment is a significant moment for any founder. It brings capital, resources, and some big decisions to make. One of the most important is choosing an independent Chair to complete the new board dynamic. We’ve found that appointing a Chair early in the journey consistently sets businesses up for success, which is why it’s something we encourage from the outset.

There’s a common misconception that a Chair’s only role is to run meetings and oversee governance. This might be true in a large public company, but in a smaller, private business, Chairs can play a crucial role in value creation. The best ones use their extensive knowledge and experience to smooth your transition into private equity investment and provide ongoing support to you and your executive team.

You will remain in control, but if you appoint and engage with the right Chair, then you’ll have a close and experienced ally to help you address the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Six qualities a great Chair brings to your business

You set the tone when appointing a Chair. It’s a collaborative process that begins with your vision for the next stage of growth and the kind of support you want around you. Some will be specific to your situation; for example, if you are a technical founder, you may want support with sales and marketing. However, there are six universal qualities shared by all the outstanding Chairs we have ever worked with, and understanding these qualities can help you choose the right person to complement your leadership style and the strengths of your business.

1. Board leadership

An effective board is essential for making the transition to a new investment cycle. The best Chairs work with founders to set clear standards, shape expectations, and create a board dynamic that supports and enables the executive team.

Great Chairs lead by example, setting the tone for meetings and fostering a culture of pace, commitment, and fairness. They build relationships, encourage diverse perspectives, and facilitate open, productive discussions where every board member is engaged and contributing. The result is a ‘safe space’ to air and address business challenges.

The best Chairs take ownership of governance by establishing a clear meeting cadence, setting agendas alongside the CEO and investors, and helping the team to develop best-in-class board materials. Crucially, they ensure key decisions are well-documented and followed up, driving momentum and accountability.

2. Relationship building

For many CEOs receiving private equity backing for the first time, working with a Chair can feel like an unfamiliar and even daunting prospect. However, the best Chairs quickly establish themselves as invaluable partners. They become your trusted sounding board, offering counsel on key strategic decisions and helping you navigate the nuances of private equity ownership.

“The best Chairs work quickly to build trust with founders, executives, and investors, and navigate the often complex dynamics between them. This requires a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to remain independent, serving as a bridge rather than taking sides. The best Chairs take quiet satisfaction in the success of others, providing an objective perspective that is free from ego or personal agenda, while empowering the CEO to lead with confidence.

3. Strategy setting

Chairs bring experience and perspective to the boardroom. A great Chair helps refine and challenge your strategic thinking, and works with you to turn your vision into a focused, actionable plan that aligns with your investor’s expectations.

Drawing on their industry expertise, they identify both opportunities and risks, and shape discussions with an informed perspective. They facilitate structured strategic planning processes, including annual strategy days that bring together executives and investors. Importantly, they also help CEOs focus on the right KPIs to track progress, and ensure that strategy remains a living, evolving framework rather than a static document reviewed once a year.

Our Chair, John Hawkins, was a fantastic supporter of the executive team and the broader business. He encouraged us to develop our strategic vision, providing expertise and challenge where appropriate; specifically around the key value drivers for the business.

4. Guiding priorities and manage expectations

Taking on outside investment brings new dynamics to your business and a great Chair can support you in navigating investor expectations, helping to translate financial targets and value creation plans into practical execution. This is particularly true around the value creation plan, and a great Chair will help you to ensure that your investors are on board with how the management team plans to prioritise factors such as growth, margin, and capital allocation to drive value in the business.

A Chair can also offer valuable perspectives on how private equity dynamics, such as fundraising and portfolio construction, might shape investor behaviour.

5. Coaching and mentorship skills

Many of the most successful founders we’ve worked with actively seek opportunities to learn and grow, and a great Chair can be a valuable part of your journey by supporting your professional development through coaching and mentorship. They’ll be your biggest cheerleader, while challenging you constructively and giving honest feedback about your performance.

This is particularly important when you’re faced with roadblocks in your business. Great Chairs act as a sounding board throughout the problem-solving process. They will give you advice, share similar problems they faced in the past, and open up their network for you to benefit from.

6. Bias towards action

Every Chair we work with has led a distinguished executive career, but the ones that stand out see the Chair role as more than just a capstone to past success. They embrace it as an opportunity to help others and don't hesitate to lend a hand when called upon to drive material change. Great Chairs value a thorough induction process and often take the lead in spending time with the team and customers early on, so that they understand the business and can provide meaningful perspective to you and your executive team.

The best Chairs combine a proactive mindset with highly relevant expertise in areas such as executive hiring, strategic partnerships, M&A, and international expansion. For example, Paul White was appointed Chair of TNP, the UK’s largest independent Microsoft Business Central 365 partner, because of his experience at Microsoft. Having held several senior roles, including responsibility for the company’s ERP product roadmap, Paul drew on this knowledge to provide TNP with valuable insight into Microsoft’s strategy. He also used his strong network to help TNP connect with key figures at Microsoft and navigate changes and relationships.

Appointing Paul White as Chair was an important step in TNP’s evolution. Paul joined around the time that FPE invested and was able to lean on his experience to help us shape and execute our strategy and confirm our position as the UK’s leading independent Microsoft Business Central partner. As we grew, he stepped up to navigate several significant critical moments for the business, particularly around Covid, M&A and our ultimate exit. Considerable value was added as a result of his involvement and he was an invaluable partner.

Appointing a Chair is a key decision; one that you shape, and that can help unlock the next chapter of your company’s growth. These six qualities show the breadth of value a strong Chair can bring to your business. And with the right partner by your side, the journey ahead will be that much more rewarding.