NED services help people move into and succeed in non-executive director and board roles. This covers NED and board-readiness training, NED coaching and mentoring, CV and profile support, board search and matching, and professional networks for aspiring and sitting non-executive directors, chairs and trustees.
Compare NED training providers, board search firms and non-executive networks across the UK by what you need, who it is for, type of board, price and independent ratings.
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VirtualNonExecs is a UK membership network for non-executive directors (NEDs), chairs and board advisors, founded by Ian Wright in 2019.
It connects members with companies, private equity and venture capital investors, family offices and founders looking for board members. Subscribing for access to posted board roles is free, and a paid Networker Pro upgrade adds a profile review, fee benchmarks and weekly board introductions. Organisations can use its HiringZone search service, which shortlists chairs, NEDs and fractional advisors from the network for a fixed fee agreed up front, and aims to produce a first shortlist in under five days. DealZone shares off-market capital raises and business sales with members. With Cranfield School of Management it offers the Non-Executive Directors Essentials Programme, an online, self-paced course of 8 modules and 24 short lessons covering governance and directors' duties, board finance, board effectiveness, the role of the chair, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability. It is stage one of the Cranfield NED pathway, awards a verified Cranfield digital badge on completion, starts on enrolment with no fixed dates, and access does not expire.
Membership prices and HiringZone fees are not published on its public pages. The Non-Executive Directors Essentials Programme costs £1,999 plus value added tax (VAT), or £1,499 plus VAT for Networker Pro members, and is provided by Cranfield Management Development Ltd, a subsidiary of Cranfield University. It states it has more than 30,000 members. Leonard Curtis, a professional services group, announced in November 2024 that it had acquired a majority stake. The company, Virtualnonexecs Limited, was incorporated in 2017 and took its current name in July 2019. Ian Wright is founder and chief executive, and Gary Cain is managing director.
Membership network or professional body
NED role matchingBoard search / headhunterNED training & development
Starbuck & Associates is a Lincolnshire-based coaching and leadership development firm, winner of the National Coaching Awards Coaching Business of the Year 2025 and a certified B Corp.
Their team of ICF Master Certified Coaches (MCCs), placing them in the top 4% of coaches globally, delivers CEO and executive coaching, team coaching, NED coaching, and accelerating women in leadership programmes.
ICF accredited coach training is delivered under The Coaching Craft brand, with ACC (ICF Level 1) and PCC (ICF Level 2) routes and an MCC route on a waiting list. ELCAS funding is available for service leavers.
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot, with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification.
NED training & developmentFor aspiring NEDsBoard readiness training
Reach Volunteering is a London-based charity, set up in 1979, that matches skilled volunteers and trustees with charities and community groups.
Organisations post volunteer and trustee roles on its online platform. People based in the UK with at least three years' professional experience can search and apply, or create a profile so charities can contact them. TrusteeWorks, its paid search service, recruits trustees, chairs and treasurers for charities, academy trusts, hospices and other social purpose organisations. Its consultants run a briefing call, research and direct search, then screen candidates and present a longlist. Timescales are not published.
The service is free for volunteers and most organisations. Trustee roles are free for charities and educational bodies with income under £1 million and other organisations under £250,000; above that, a role costs £200 or £300 plus value added tax (VAT), and an Enhanced option costs £450 plus VAT. TrusteeWorks is priced by quote. Reach is a registered charity (number 278837) and a company limited by guarantee. In 2025 it recorded 5,996 placements, including 1,387 trustee appointments, across 2,440 organisations. After announcing a closure, it says nine funders and donors are now funding it to the end of 2028.
The Non-Executive Directors Exchange (NEDExchange) is a family-run UK service for people seeking non-executive director (NED) roles, set up in 1999.
Members receive a monthly newsletter of NED, chair and trustee vacancies, with details of how to apply and reminders of deadlines. It guarantees at least 45 opportunities a month. Members can also advertise their skills and interests, because the newsletter goes to the companies and recruitment agencies that advertise with it. Organisations can use it to find NEDs, and it publishes member CVs on its website.
Membership prices are not published. It was started by Ray Fox, and since 2022 it has been run by Shirley, Katrina, Danielle and Jade Fox. Recent vacancies on its website include a university chair of council and a charity chair of trustees.
Connectd is a London-based platform, launched in 2020, that matches startups with non-executive directors, board advisors and fractional executives.
Startups describe what they need and are matched with experts from its network, with matches reviewed within 48 hours. Roles can be pro bono or paid, and many start pro bono before moving to paid, equity or blended terms. For executives building a portfolio career, its Transition to Portfolio offer includes self-paced academies for fractional executive and board advisor roles. Each has five modules, 180 minutes of one-to-one mentoring and a guaranteed pro bono placement, lasting three months on the fractional route and six months on the board advisor route. It suggests members have around 10 years in a senior leadership role, and most train alongside a full-time job.
Startups can use the platform free for the first six months. Fees for executives are not published. Connectd states that each academy pathway carries 30 continuing professional development (CPD) points, but does not name an accrediting body. It was founded by Roei Samuel, is operated by LinkExec Ltd, and lists offices in London, Manchester, Poland and Mumbai. Its website says it was ranked sixth in LinkedIn's Top UK startups list for 2024.
Matching and placement platform
NED role matchingNED training & developmentPeer network / community
Exec-appointments.com is a Financial Times (FT) job board for senior executive and board roles, including non-executive positions.
Candidates can search vacancies, set up job alerts and upload a CV so recruiters can match them to roles. The site covers chief executive, chief financial officer, director and other senior appointments, and has a board jobs section that includes non-executive director, chair and trustee roles. Advertisers include executive search firms and employers. FT Career Management, which runs the site, also publishes an Executive Appointments section in the Financial Times newspaper every Thursday.
A Standard job listing costs £550 for two weeks or £880 for four weeks, a Premium listing costs £990, and an Enhanced listing costs £1,320 for 14 days or £2,200 for 28 days. Prices exclude VAT (value added tax). The site states that Enhanced listings get 1.75 times the job views of Standard listings. Its recruiter terms name John Wiley & Sons as the company providing the advertising service.
Job board or directory
Job boardFor chairsFor trustees
London, United KingdomNo Google or Trustpilot reviews
