Smokescreen FTSE 100 remuneration committees are striving to find acceptable remuneration structures to compete with their US counterparts. Articles abound of increased FTSE 100 CEO pay and new, hybrid executive incentives. But for the vast majority of UK listed companies, this is a smokescreen. That said, all companies must be competitive and this applies also…

April 29, 2026 Read more >

Board expectations are increasing, yet core governance practices remain inconsistent. MM&K’s Life in the Boardroom 2025/26 survey highlights where boards continue to face pressure, drawing on insights from 435 board positions to show how boards operate today. The findings are based on first‑hand experience from Chairs and Non‑Executive Directors (NEDs), rather than company staff or…

April 24, 2026 Read more >

MM&K supported the ESOP Centre’s 9th Share Plan Symposium, contributing to a panel on the evolving executive remuneration landscape, where Tamsin Howells and Stuart James explored a deceptively simple question: what comes first – culture or reward? There is a familiar pattern in organisations undergoing transformation. Significant investment is made in engagement, communication, and capability-building to shift behaviour.…

April 22, 2026 Read more >

2026 is set be a fairly quiet year for new UK corporate governance regulation. That said, the regulatory merry-go-round keeps turning; boards must continue to keep pace with the demands of regulation adopted in earlier years. The FCA has been consulting on proposed new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) – see CP 26/5 ‘Aligning listed…

March 26, 2026 Read more >

Equity does more than distribute financial upside in an organisation – it quietly redistributes power. Formal power tends to be defined by role: title, reporting lines, decision rights. But in many organisations, particularly partnerships and private-equity backed firms, equity introduces another layer of influence. Ownership creates a different kind of voice – one that is often heard…

March 25, 2026 Read more >

A recent newspaper report highlighted that there is a worry in the “Big 4” accountancy firms that there will not be enough people coming through their “talent pipeline”. For many businesses, the thought will strike them that “if one of the deepest resourced firms in the country is having issues, what could that mean for…

March 23, 2026 Read more >

Life in the Boardroom is a unique biennial survey that gathers insights directly from Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and Board Chairs, rather than from company staff or annual reports. Key areas covered include directors’ fees and time commitments, as well as their views on a range of topical board issues. Since 1990, this survey has provided…

March 20, 2026 Read more >

Many organisations talk about culture, but few have robust evidence of how effectively it supports strategic objectives. According to our most recent Life in the Boardroom report (a survey of UK board Chairs and Non‑Executive Directors) 66 % of directors reported strong alignment between their organisation’s culture, values, and strategic objectives, with NEDs playing a proactive…

February 22, 2026 Read more >

For the 2025/26 edition of Life in the Boardroom, MM&K collected responses from Chairs and NEDs who hold a total of 435 board appointments, surveying them on their fees, their use of time, and their opinions and experiences on topics such as board governance, board effectiveness, and more. The survey highlights a clear and consistent…

February 20, 2026 Read more >

Depending on your bonus culture, January may be when discretionary awards for 2025 are being decided, for others, this is when their “balanced scorecard” for 2026 is being reviewed and updated. Either way, now is the time when decisions will be made around where bonus monies (actual or potential) will be deployed. And for businesses…

January 21, 2026 Read more >

Boards focus on how culture enables strategy, shapes risk, drives leadership, and creates long-term value. Yet measuring culture is complex. Research by Russell Reynolds Associates shows that only 53% of board directors feel they have sufficient data to assess corporate culture, highlighting a persistent gap between intent and insight. Engagement surveys capture sentiment at a…

January 21, 2026 Read more >

Boards are more than decision-making bodies; they are the custodians of organisational culture, strategic alignment, and long-term value creation. In the most recent Life in the Boardroom webinar, moderated by Katya Gorbatiouk (Head of Investment Funds at the London Stock Exchange), Paul Norris (Senior Partner, MM&K), Kieran Moynihan (Managing Partner, Board Excellence), Fiona Hathorn (CEO, WB…

January 20, 2026 Read more >