ANDERSON 3.1

I have been in a reflective mood recently, perhaps because I am heading fast to a major birthday, which will coincide with our general election in July. So I thought I would share some of that reflection with the almost 4,000 people with whom I am linked here on LinkedIn, very few of whom have seen the full arc of my career.

I started my working life as an accountant, or more properly, as an auditor. ANDERSON 1.0 lasted for about 21 years. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, and I mainly followed the audit and due diligence route that was common in those years. I spent two critical years in Italy, helping to start a Corporate Finance department in Milan, supporting a partner from Switzerland. I returned to the UK and became a partner in C&L, and in comparatively short order moved full time to this new subject of Enterprise Risk Management, not that we called it that. I am pretty confident in saying I was the first partner in any of the large firms in those days to focus 100% of my time on ERM. And in 2001, I left PwC.

So started ANDERSON 2.0. I developed a business with a partner from the LSE (that's the London School of Economics...), moved back into practice, into pure consulting and back and forward for a number of years, either running my own businesses, or in leadership positions in consulting firms of various sizes. I also happened to find myself sitting on the board of the Institute of Risk Management, and after two years I was Chair, and heavily involved in many initiatives, but especially enjoying the Thought Leadership. The three years as Chair provided me with valuable insight into the delicate business of chairing a board.

In 2018, I joined my first commercial board as an iNED at Pay.UK where I chaired the Risk Committee. This was the start of ANDERSON 3.0. Within a very short time, I was asked to Chair the Cheque & Credit Clearing Company, as we went through the transition from paper clearing to the Image Clearing System. I took on an iNED role at Banking Competition Remedies, soon stepping up as Chair. And I had the good fortune to Chair a smaller VC-backed payments organisation. All of those have now come to an end.

So I am now in ANDERSON 3.1, where I am rebuilding my portfolio of non-executive roles – I am actively looking to fill the slots in my portfolio with interesting companies that value a committed and engaged non-executive director or Chair. But I also do two other things. I continue my consulting activities. I don’t actively search out consulting roles, but I am open to doing interesting assignments. I like to think that I bring a blend of my own personal style of risk management consulting, blended with the practical experience of chairing Risk Committees as various organisations. And finally, I also continue to develop my commercial photography and digital art interests (see www.instagram.com/raphotoportfolio).

So, as I approach this big birthday – big not because of the general election, but more because of my age – I have no thoughts about hanging up my boots, but rather, I wonder to myself where my next opportunities will come from. Life is for living, and enjoying, and I love my balanced lifestyle right now! Bring it on!