I am delighted to announce that Marion Macleod has joined the Board of Fenwick as a non-executive director.

Having a Board is a recent experience for us and we are still learning what it is all about. For the first thirty-three years of our existence the roles of directing and managing the business were combined. It was only when we established an employee shareholder scheme that we recognised the need to separate these functions.

As Marion explains: “Managing through change is the job of the executive team, but it is the role of the board to set strategic direction—based on continual review and renewal of new information. This requires boards to anticipate future changes and understand the risks and opportunities they present to the organisation. The board must constantly ask itself questions about the company’s business needs, where is it heading, and how it will get there. Engaging with management, rather than simply reviewing its performance in implementing strategy, is an important undertaking of any board.”

Managing through change is the job of the executive team, but it is the role of the board to set strategic direction.

Marion is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has an MBA from Melbourne University. She has over 30 years’ experience as a senior executive including a marketing role at Telstra in the early days of mobile phones.

Presently, Marion is an accredited facilitator for the Institute of Company Directors; a director of the Victorian Farmers Federation; Managing Director of Core Management Solutions—a consultancy providing executive development training and strategic advice; and is the CEO of MyMenti whose online mentoring tool aims to “bring the brightest minds together to achieve incredible things.” Marion has been a VP, Director and Board Member of Melbourne Rotary and is the recipient of the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship.

I first met Marion when she facilitated a workshop at Rotary for our Welfare of the Young committee. Subsequently she facilitated a strategic planning project for Fenwick involving all staff, seeking to identify opportunities and set the future directions of the firm.

Marion cautions that “the biggest impediment to future success is past success.”  In September last year, we celebrated our 40th birthday. With her help, we aim to make the next decade even more successful than the first four.

More about Marion Macleod.