The Programme

The 1000 Club offers a private yearlong series of events drawing on its privileged relationship ecosystem across the board market with the best Chairs, board members and headhunters in the UK. Designed to fill the gap for high level board education in the UK, the 1000 Club starts in January 2027 and accelerates connection and insight into the non-executive space to enhance an individual's chance of success.

Events include private drinks with leaders of the board practices of Egon Zehnder and Russell Reynolds at their office in Victoria and St James respectively. The series also includes meetings with leaders of the board practice of Teneo, either online or in person and those from Gatenby Sanderson, which places candidates on the largest government boards. Members also have access to talks from senior FTSE 350 Chairs and Committee Chairs on how they think about board appointments, the demands of regulated boards and managing a portfolio. The guidance from the UK's best board headhunters covers what headhunters look for in candidates, how to manage headhunters effectively - an art in itself - and how to succeed in interviews for government boards. As well as enabling members to get on the radar of these influential board practices, these meetings offer a concrete understanding of what headhunters look for in candidates, how candidates should manage headhunters effectively and how to succeed in interviews for government boards.

Members also have the opportunity to join private interactive half day board workshops on quantum, cybersecurity and AI given by IBM at its Innovation Studio in Waterloo, followed by lunch. These sessions are closed and at the board level, and allow members to use some of the best AI tools for a range of use cases to build knowledge of key board skillsets.

Additional benefits of membership are a Gold membership of The Board Directory, the closed database used by 90 of the UK's best board headhunters to find non-executive candidates. This has members from 63% of FTSE 100 boards and 64% of FTSE 250 boards and ensures visibility across the market. Members also receive access to BoardBase, the FTSE people, financial and intelligence database to research data, upcoming listed non-executive opportunities and see business performance; and a free coaching session from the Alexander Partnership, the distinguished coaching firm, to support their transition journey.

At the end of the 1000 Club event series, participants will have confidential insight into how to navigate the influential gatekeepers, the board headhunter group, how to navigate the interview process for a government or listed board, have insight into the management of portfolios and regulated boards and have used some of the best AI tools in simulated sessions to accelerate knowledge of key board skillsets.