This passion stems from his drive for openness and transparency across all sectors and his professional background as an accountant where there is a strong focus on compliance and oversight. He is driven by the need to educate individuals everywhere about the dangers of poor governance and offer them sustainable and credible solutions to avoid failures that can impact lives and reputations. Karl is an avid believer in Bob Garrett’s governance philosophy that: ‘…the fish rots from the head’ and as such, works directly with boards and the C–suite to help them enhance their current understanding of managing an organisation by enlightening their application of governance from a strategic perspective.
He is a leading advisor and commentator on governance globally and provides organisations including listed companies, leading professional service firms, governing and membership bodies, sports organisations and faith-based institutions with expert advice on the enhancement and implementation of governance codes.
He is a thought leader and internationally established governance consultant. Formerly Managing Director of the governance forum, Karl is now a Partner and Head of Governance at RSM. Working with boards and senior executives across the private, public and voluntary sectors with over twenty years combined experience in accountancy, business and strategic development. Karl created the Governance Assessment Process (GAP) which was endorsed by the late Sir Adrian Cadbury – the chair of the Cadbury Committee and has been delivered to hundreds of organisations across all sectors. Once completed, the Process awards organisations a kite mark in governance.
As well as sharing his knowledge and creating impact through improving the ways boards work, it is Karl’s innovation and passion for the importance and relevance of governance which have established him as ‘The Governor’.
Karl is the creator of Effective Board Member programmes which have been delivered across the world in partnership with organisations including PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), The Football Association (FA), RSM UK, Edinburgh Napier University, the Association of Corporate Governance Practitioners (ACGP) and The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA). The Programmes have been developed specifically for CEOs, senior executives, women, young professionals, footballers, cricketers and other sports people.
Karl has been conferred an honorary doctorate, is a visiting professor, established author, sought after speaker and community champion and creator of The Board Game – a unique interactive learning tool which helps participants refresh their governance knowledge in a fun but challenging environment. His latest book, ‘The Effective Board Member’, launched in Autumn 2017 and immediately went to number one in the Best Sellers list for Management and Leadership on Amazon Kindle.