Our Governance
Strong leadership and a commitment to good governance are underpinned by a range of policies and systems that ensure we continue to run a business with effective decision-making, oversight and control.
Our Board recognises the importance of good corporate governance and works to ensure that the Group’s governance arrangements deliver a well-run business which has at its heart its clients and which recognises its responsibilities not only towards shareholders but also other stakeholders such as employees, the wider market and society. See our Section 172 statement for more information on how our Board has considered stakeholders as part of its decision-making process.
We strongly believe that a robust corporate governance framework is important to the long-term success of the firm. This allows the Board to ensure effective decision-making and a system of risk management and internal controls are maintained. We therefore follow the Wates Corporate Governance Principles which provide a framework to help large unlisted private companies meet legal requirements while promoting long term success.
Our leadership
Meet the Evelyn Partners leadership team:
The Board Committees
The Board delegates certain responsibilities to its Committees to help discharge its duties. The Board Committees play an essential role in supporting the Board, giving focused oversight of key areas and aspects of the business. The Board Committees are in turn supported by various executive and management committees. While the Board retains overall responsibility, a sub-Committee structure allows more time for closer scrutiny by Board Committees prior to any consideration required by the Board.
The roles and responsibilities of the Board and its Committees, including sub-Committees, are set out in formal Terms of Reference to ensure there are clear lines of accountability and responsibility to support effective decision-making across the organisation. These are reviewed at least annually as part of the review of the corporate governance framework. The Board has created the following four Board Committees, as well as a Digitalisation Forum, to help it fulfil its oversight duties and responsibilities:
Risk & Audit Committee
- Oversees audit and risk matters including challenging the adherence to risk frameworks and policies, including the whistleblowing arrangements
- Reviews the Group-wide risk profile through the Three Lines of Defence governance model
- Monitors the effectiveness of internal financial controls and financial reporting
- Considers the adequacy of the external and internal audit functions
- Its members are: Carla Stent (Chair), Elizabeth Chambers, Chris Grigg, Keith Jones, Peter Deming and Chris Pell
Nominations Committee
- Oversees the adequacy of the governance arrangements in place including succession planning, the Board’s structure, size and composition, including independence, diversity, knowledge, skills and experience of its members
- Identifies and nominates candidates to fill Board vacancies as they arise
- Oversees the performance evaluation process for the Board and its Committees
- Oversees the induction of new Directors and ongoing training needs for the Board and individual Directors
- Its members are: Chris Grigg (Chair), Elizabeth Chambers, Keith Jones, Peter Deming, Chris Pell, Philip Muelder and Carla Stent
Remuneration Committee
- Oversees and approves remuneration and incentive packages for the Board and employees across the Group
- Considers the adherence of remuneration policies and practices with regulatory guidelines and codes of practice and alignment to the Group’s strategy, prudent risk management, culture and behaviours and long-term interests of all stakeholders
- Considers changes to the Group’s remuneration policy, the gender pay gap and equity incentive arrangements of Board members
- Its members are: Keith Jones (Chair), Elizabeth Chambers, Peter Deming, Chris Grigg, Chris Pell, Philip Muelder and Carla Stent
Board ESG Committee
- Oversees the effectiveness of the Group’s ESG strategy, including its purpose, the application of its values and management of ESG risks and opportunities
- Assists the Group Boards in promoting the long-term sustainable success of the business in relation to ESG matters
- Oversees the development of the Group ESG strategy and monitors its performance
- Ensures the right ESG strategies, supporting framework, policies and plans are in place to meet the Group’s ESG goals
- Oversees the corporate reputation and engagement with internal and external stakeholders
- Its members are: Chris Grigg, Kjersti Wiklund and David Cobb
Board Digitalisation Forum
- Oversees the long-term technology enabled transformation strategy for the Group
- Assists the Group Boards by providing digital and technology inputs into the annual strategy and budget processes
- Periodically reviews security trends in the industry and provides updates to Group Boards
- Oversees the long-term architecture of the Group’s digitalisation strategy
- Its members are: Kjersti Wiklund and Chris Grigg
Further information on our governance framework, including activities of the Board and its Committees can be found in our Corporate Governance Report.
Our Corporate Responsibility Report set out our ESG journey, and how we keep corporate responsibility at the heart of our business.
Our Corporate Governance Report
Board Diversity
We take diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) seriously and recognise the importance of ensuring that our membership reflects diversity in its broadest sense. We aspire to be a diverse Board combining different skills, experience, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, socio-economic, educational and professional background, and other relevant personal attributes to provide the range of perspectives, insights and challenge needed to support good decision making by the Board. More information on our approach to D&I can be found in our Board Diversity Policy.