Non Executive Director of the Year

Nov 26 2009 By The Journal

Sponsored by Muckle LLP, North East Chamber of Commerce, The Alchemists, Barclays, Baker Tilly, Brewin Dolphin, North Star Equity Investors, One North East and Northumbria University

John Josephs

A CAREER split between 20 years in an accountancy practice and 16 in business has prepared John Josephs ideally for the non executive appointments he has taken up since stepping down from the "day job" in 2004.

An instrumental mover in the establishment, growth, floatation and successful sale of Tyne and Wear’s first commercial radio station, Metro Radio, Josephs has experience of most of the challenges that a business is likely to face.

And he admits that he has had to put it to use during the past 12 months, especially through his current role as chairman of Washington Display, the Washington-based manufacturer of metal products for point-of-sale displays. It was his contribution to this business that earned him his nomination for the title of the North East’s second Non Executive Director of the Year.

Josephs first got involved at Washington as a mentor through Entrust before formalising his relationship with the business by taking over as chairman 18 months later.

On his experience at the firm, Josephs says: "One of the things I am most pleased with is how we have been able to give the executive team the confidence to grow the business during the last two years, at a time when things have been very, very difficult for the manufacturing sector."

A former partner at Robert Miller Tate, Josephs has held a range of other non-exec appointments including as chairman of Mincoffs Solicitors and a governor of the Northumbria University. He says he is delighted to support the Non Executive Director of the Year award which aims to encourage more businesses in the North East to make use of non executives.

He says: "As a non exec, one is there to support, guide, question and constructively criticise the executive, with the overall objective of improving the performance of the company.

"If the answers to questions are not satisfactory, or even just not clear, one has to persist until one is satisfied. This may be painful for the execs... and I've been on the receiving end, but it is crucial to the performance of the role of the non exec.

"One is also there to listen, particularly in the early stages of a new appointment when there is always a lot to learn.

"You can’t join a new board and think you've got truth by the tail… you have to listen and learn, soak up information, be a sponge, and it may take six months before you can contribute effectively.

"It is also important to be a good listener because running a small business, for example, can be a lonely place, and the chief executive will from time to time want a sounding board."

He adds: "The other key skill is the ability to communicate clearly, and sensitively, because you may from time to time have a difficult point to get across, and may be communicating things that the executives don’t want to hear."

:: Click here to see an image gallery from the North East Business Executive of the Year awards