Business Background
Lisa has more than 20 years’ experience of advisory work at senior level with a range of clients. Following a degree in Modern Languages at Oxford University, she qualified as a solicitor, practising at Frere Cholmeley Bischoff, and then Nabarro, before taking a senior in-house legal role at Penguin Books, part of the Pearson Group, advising on a range of commercial matters. She later worked with a consultancy providing strategic advice to professional services/advisory firms. Lisa moved to focus on corporate governance and board performance reviews in 2011 when she joined Ffion Hague at Independent Board Evaluation and has specialised in board evaluation since then.
Board Evaluation
Lisa is a trusted adviser to FTSE 100 and 250 boards across all sectors, partnership boards in professional services, and many others, as part of Independent Board Evaluation, a specialist independent provider of bespoke high-quality board performance reviews. Please see clients for a selection of IBE assignments.
Lisa specialises in guiding boards to reach their optimal performance potential. Consequently she works closely with her clients, focusing on identifying and tackling obstacles to best-practice board performance, supporting the Chair and Company Secretary, and providing practical and effective recommendations. IBE’s methodology is rigorous and supported by objective data, overlaid with IBE insight, gleaned over 20 years of advising boards at the top level. Lisa complies with the Guiding Principles for Evaluators, found on the IBE website. and is a founder member of The International Register of Board Reviewers, launched in 2024 to establish common standards amongst independent reviewers, and their clients. More details can be found at TIRBR.com
More about Lisa
Born in Wales, Lisa is a native Welsh speaker and an active member of the London Welsh community. She is an experienced fundraiser and charity event organiser, and a former member of the London Advisory Board of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. Additionally, Lisa is the co-founder of Cylch, a networking organisation for Welsh professionals in London. She is also a former vice president of the London Welsh Centre Trust.
TESTIMONIALS
Chair FTSE AIM
“Board evaluations are sometimes viewed sceptically by those participating in them. Our experience turned this perspective on its head. Lisa’s engagement was seen to be genuinely focussed on performance – she delivered as a professional partner rather than a passing assessor. Her knowledge of the personalities on the board makes her a wise counsel and a great mentor for the chair. Her opinions matter to other board members.”
Chair FTSE100
“IBE is simply outstanding at running an insightful interview process involving Board members and those who interact with them to identify the issues, producing a report to the Board, crafted with finesse, which members accept, and making recommendations for improvement which are actionable.”
Company Secretary FTSE250
“Lisa leads a clear and focused session at the Board. I received so much positive feedback from the Board on both the findings and approach. The session struck such a positive tone, but the continuous improvement suggested really resonated with the Board and led to a high-quality discussion at the non-executive breakfast the following morning.”
Chair FTSE 250
“Lisa demonstrated, with some humanity, a real ability to grasp the underlying dynamics of our young Board and the strategic ambitions of the business. Recommendations were highly tailored to us and have made a significant, positive impact on the Board and on our governance.”
Contact
Lisa Thomas:
E: [email protected]
Ally Gaskin:
E: [email protected]