The Better Boards Podcast Series

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Beyond listed corporations, there is a vibrant world of start-ups, scale-ups, and organisations at the pre-IPO stage. What does it take to add value to these Boards, and how does the work differ from that of a listed organisation? Most importantly, how can working with these companies shape a Board portfolio career?
In this podcast, Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner, is joined by Susanne Chishti, Chair of FINTECH Circle, Europe’s first Investor Network focused on fintech investments. Susanne is an experienced Non-Executive Director, best-selling author, and in 2024, was named as one of the Top 100 Women in Fintech. She is also a former CNBC fintech commentator and a guest lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Warwick Business School.
“At every single stage, customer and investor expectations increase“
Susanne sees the role of Board members shifting as companies move through different stages. Initially, in the start-up stage, Board members add value by providing practical help to entrepreneurs, demonstrating a strong governance model, opening doors and developing a strong go-to-market strategy. Then, at the scale-up stage, Board members work closely with VCs and investors and add value by showing there’s a strong governance model in place and that invested funds will be well looked after. When a firm prepares to go public, the role changes again, and Board members add value by helping the firm prepare for public scrutiny and public governance structures.
“It is not easy for somebody who has managed 10,000 people in a large bank to come into a startup with 10 people and add value without killing the innovation, fast movement, and agility of a start-up"
For Susanne, it is vital that Board members have an awareness of the scale-up cycles and where their company is in the cycle. This helps inform Board members about what value they can bring. Ideally, Board members maintain flexibility and an openness to learning what’s needed in the moment. She acknowledges this requires listening, humbleness, and savvy observation of the environment.
“Lots of large private companies have not yet gone public, but they are more successful, you could argue, than large, listed companies.“
Susanne notes the private market is fairly new and expanding rapidly. Joining the right start-up at the right stage can offer a chance to experience a similar or greater level of challenge, opportunity, and success than at a listed firm. 
“In order to be inside the funnel which headhunters use, it's important to understand who the right headhunters“
To get a Board seat takes intentional networking and relationship building. For networking, Susanne recommends FINTECH Circle and FinTech conferences. 
The three top takeaways from our conversation for effective boards are:
1.     FinTech and technology sectors offer great opportunities for Board members to add value, even without a pre-existing tech background.
2.    Getting a Board seat requires an intentional plan to network and build headhunter relationships. 
3.    Look at this opportunity as a potential long-term enrichment of your life and an enjoyable extension of your career path.  and best-selling author, and in 2024 was named 

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In capital-intensive, brand-driven organisations, strategic ambition must be matched by disciplined governance. Effective governance links capital allocation to technology strategy, culture development, and measurable KPIs, so that speed and ambition balance with long-term enterprise value creation.
In this podcast, Dr. Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of better Boards, is joined once again by Marco Mattiacci, a global executive with 25+ years of leadership across the luxury, automotive sector - Aston Martin Lagonda and Ferrari, Formula 1, and media. He has operated at the CEO and Board–Executive levels in capital-intensive, high-visibility environments, partnering directly with shareholders, sovereign investors, and rights-holders across the USA, Europe, China, and Japan.
“It is important that you don't have very general or first-level KPIs. You need to go into the details“
The most meaningful KPIs for Boards to monitor, in Marco’s opinion, are very richly detailed KPIs that directly tie to the progress and success of the CapEx project. It does require extra work from the Board to delve deeply into the details and have a strong grasp of the data. However, it also helps with every Board meeting and progress check, enabling the Board to understand what’s behind each KPI and what the changes mean in terms of progress against the roadmap.
 “At the same time, you need to make sure you deliver clarity and simplicity, not tsunami the Board with a massive amount of data“
To Marco, ambiguity is the worst enemy in business. Massive amounts of data create ambiguity and overwhelm. Setting up KPIs aligned with your roadmaps in each area – talent, culture, and technology – and doing the early work to ensure alignment before launching the project pays off for Boards down the line. Incoming data can be filtered for key facts and used to create meaningful yet simple dashboards.
 Marco recommends that the Executive Committee provide perhaps five pages to support the discussion of the dashboard and KPIs. No Board packs with 1000s of pages or mountains of unfiltered data. Summarising key qualitative and quantitative elements into shorter documents builds on the early work of aligning stakeholders and setting clear gates, while allowing time for meaningful discussions in meetings on project health, needed changes, and risk monitoring. 
 “The key element is to be competent“
Large capital projects attract scrutiny, and there can be tension in providing constructive challenge while preserving momentum. Yet, for Marco, anger is always outside the scope of work. Ego, anger, and frustration add nothing, and for the three to four hours of a meeting, operating as a team with an eye on results leads to the best outcomes.
The three top takeaways from our conversation for effective boards are:
 1.     Understand the KPIs and definition of success. Use simple, intuitive dashboards and scorecards to monitor progress against your KPIs and goals.
2.    Keep ego out of the Boardroom and Executive Committee.
3.    The first enemy to fight is ambiguity. 

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We’d love to get to know you! If you’d like to become part of the Better Boards community, discover our unique approach, and explore ways to work with us or share your ideas on The Better Boards Podcast series, drop us a line at [email protected].

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In capital-intensive, brand-driven organisations, strategic ambition must be matched by disciplined governance. Effective governance links capital allocation to technology strategy, culture development, and measurable KPIs, so that speed and ambition balance with long-term enterprise value creation.
In this podcast, Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner, is joined by Marco Mattiacci. Marco is a global executive with 25+ years of leadership across luxury, automotive, motorsport, and media. Marco served as an Executive Committee member and Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer at Aston Martin Lagonda, and was the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari Formula One, and President & CEO of Ferrari North America and Asia Pacific. 
“Don’t approve a budget. Approve a sequence of proofs.”
For Marco, large investments are not budgetary line items. They are roadmaps and processes. Succeeding with a CapEx project requires careful assessments of the technology, the talent, and the company culture — what he calls the Three Interlocking Roadmaps. Stage-gating funding against predefined KPIs preserves governance leverage and keeps investment disciplined as conditions change.
“AI that outpaces your ecosystem doesn’t create advantage. It creates fragility. And fragility at speed is the most dangerous condition a board can be blind to.”
In addition to internal assessments, Marco recommends evaluating the company’s full ecosystem, including suppliers, stakeholders, and clients. Will they be able to interface appropriately with your company during and after the CapEx investment? What limits or risks do you need to account for as a part of the process?
“Ambiguity is the worst enemy of business.”
Marco notes that preparation is key to removing ambiguity. This may require significant effort at the beginning to ensure that technology and talent/culture roadmaps are fully intertwined and aligned, both overall and for short- and medium-term gates. Overlaying roadmaps and grid scorecards based on hard data ensures ongoing alignment and progress.
“You need to establish a very good dialogue.”
Marco is familiar with the tension between Boards and Executive Committees during intensive CapEx projects. Boards worry they step on toes, and managers want to protect their turf. In a managerial role, he gets the best outcomes by trusting the Board’s wisdom and helicopter view rather than an operational viewpoint. Boards, in turn, can provide support and a longer-term perspective.
Marco notes that technology can provide real-time information about culture, talent, governance, and organisational dynamics. Firms can continually survey and monitor, which is important in high-pressure, high-profile situations.  This tangible data, blended with qualitative data from strategic conversations and informal sentiment gathering, closely monitors culture and talent dynamics within the company and across the full ecosystem. 
The three top takeaways from our conversation are:
•        A CapEx investment is not a budget line item. It is a sequence of proofs and gates that guide disciplined spending.
•        Consider the impact on the full ecosystem, which includes suppliers, stakeholders, and clients.
•        Once you have your vision, assess the culture and talent to bring the right elements forward to meet your goals.

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We’d love to get to know you! If you’d like to become part of the Better Boards community, discover our unique approach, and explore ways to work with us or share your ideas on The Better Boards Podcast series, drop us a line at [email protected].

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Comply or Explain is sometimes treated as a procedural exercise. However, the true purpose is to encourage thoughtful decisions, support accountability, and promote open communication with stakeholders. 
In this podcast, Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner, is joined by Kelvin Ernest, a governance professional with extensive experience navigating evolving regulatory expectations and corporate reporting practice. As a Senior Policy Associate in the Financial Reporting Council’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship team, Kelvin contributes to stakeholder engagement, policy development, reporting analysis, research, and the development of the updated UK Corporate Governance Code.
“The biggest takeaway for boards is that it encourages them to think carefully about how each provision fits into their own individual contexts.“
In practice, the UK Corporate Governance Code operates at two levels. Companies apply and explain against high-level principles and then address the more detailed comply or explain provisions. Companies can choose to follow the recommended approach or take a different route that better fits their circumstances. For Kelvin, this is part of how the Code recognises that one size doesn't fit all and that a well-reasoned departure can be entirely appropriate.
“The flexibility is a real strength of the UK model.”
Kelvin knows that 'comply or explain' is widely debated. For him, in rules-only systems, there’s too much formulaic behaviour and box ticking. The UK model allows companies to tailor their governance to their individual strategies and business complexity. 
“More companies are moving away from boilerplate reporting.”
Under the current model, Kelvin notes that companies are shifting what they share. There’s less generic, vague, and boilerplate language. Rationales are clearer. Where there are temporary departures, there’s more insight and disclosure around timeframes, and more evidence of genuine board discussions.
“Explanations don’t exist in a vacuum.”
For boards wondering how to show an alternative approach is best, Kelvin says a good place to start is by linking it to company strategy and culture, day-to-day operations, and the nuances of the industry. Where possible, he recommends outlining the board’s decision-making process and what was considered. 
“Investors want clarity as to why a departure was made and how that supports the long-term value creation of the company.” 
Kelvin knows investors find it hard to form a view or make decisions based on generic or vague explanations. They want clarity, specifics, and links to a company's reality. Kelvin notes that too many people believe transparency means revealing confidential details. He says it is more about providing meaningful context, which is the basis for building trust. 
The three top takeaways from our conversation are:
1.     Comply or Explain is about thoughtful governance and not just about reporting.
2.    High-quality explanations show accountability, demonstrate transparency, and reassure stakeholders that the company is thinking about decisions for the longer term.
3.    Engagement with stakeholders strengthens trust, helps boards refine their governance approach, and instils

Come Join The Better Boards Community 
We’d love to get to know you! If you’d like to become part of the Better Boards community, discover our unique approach, and explore ways to work with us or share your ideas on The Better Boards Podcast series, drop us a line at [email protected].

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Come Join The Better Boards Community 
We’d love to get to know you! If you’d like to become part of the Better Boards community, discover our unique approach, and explore ways to work with us or share your ideas on The Better Boards Podcast series, drop us a line at [email protected].