Célia Pronto on how to become a non-executive director

In this episode we explore how to become a non-executive director with Célia Pronto. Célia is the perfect person to ask for help with answering this question because in addition to an impressive career, as Managing Director at Love Home Swap, Chief Customer and Digital Officer at Casual Dining Group, Marketing and E-commerce Director at Ford Retail Group and much more, she is a non-executive director at South East Water, Moto Hospitality and Samworth Brothers.  Together we discuss what drove her and the challenges she faced in getting her first role. She shares how to get your NED pitch right, create your NED CV and the importance of networking. Célia says 'it's a contact sport', you have to be ready for rejection and you can't take it personally. She says it is also vitally important that you make sure that taking on a NED role is right for you. Once you get through the many hurdles to get an offer for your first role you should be prepared to reject it.  You will need to do your due diligence before accepting any roles. "Meet the whole board, make absolutely sure you meet the audit partner and find out if there is anything in the accounts that you should be aware of. Meet the legal council to find out if there are any skeletons in the closet. And meet enough of the executives to make sure the culture is the right fit for you." The conversation covers the difference between trustee roles and NEDs, where to look to find roles, understanding remuneration and finding relevant training opportunities. You can find links to many of the references discussed below. This interview was originally recorded at a live MarketingKind event in April 2022 and since then Célia has taken on two more NED roles at Hostmore plc and Campden BRI. We're sharing this now because her advice is still highly relevant. This episode was hosted by Bob Boxer, co-founder of the Cafe agency and a Founding Member of the MarketingKind community. Relevant links: FT board training Women on Boards  Dynamic boards  For Government roles join the public appointments newsletter  Nurole - by recommendation only