Sherrington Associates completes board recruitment to appoint two new Non-Executive Directors to MSIF...

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Merseyside Special Investment Fund

Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) is a Liverpool based independent, private company limited by guarantee, created in 1994. MSIF is governed by a Board of non-executive directors acting and appointed by its Members (guarantors). There are currently two Members namely; the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and MSIF Partners Limited.

MSIF’s prime objective is to provide a wide range of debt and equity funding to Small and Medium sized businesses (SMEs) predominately within the Liverpool City Region but also operating across the North West. All returns on MSIF’s investments are recycled into the Funds to be re-invested in local businesses. River Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of MSIF with its own board, acts as the principal Fund Manager.

In addition, MSIF operates the LCR Finance Hub which assists new and existing SMEs in the LCR and surrounding areas access external funding; and the LCR Angel network.

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Board Recruitment 2024

Having worked with MSIF's Chairman Neil Ashbridge during his time as Chair of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce where Sherrington Associates delivered executive coaching for the Chamber's CEO, in early 2024 the Sherrington team were approached by Neil again, this time to deliver a leadership recruitment campaign to appoint two new Non-Executive Directors to the board of MSIF Limited.

Having invested over £235m into 17,000 companies across the Liverpool City Region and wider North West economy since their inception, MSIF's legacy is significant and with a current investment portfolio of circa £40m of funds under management, the organisation requires strong strategic leadership and governance to ensure every penny delivers impact for the region. Having reviewed the strengths and weaknesses in the existing board, MSIF determined that the two new board members would need to bring strong leadership backgrounds in finance and legal, as well as an excellent understanding of the regional investment landscape, in particular knowledge of the funding challenges for SME organisations.

In February 2024, Sherrington were charged with carrying out a retained search and got to work researching the market. Combining cold desk research with approaches to NED's from within our existing network gained from 20+ years experience, an impressive longlist was developed within a matter of weeks, consulting closely with the client over the profiles most-likely to bring sustainable leadership to the board. Using our 4A Assessment Platform, as well as BVC Values Assessments, we were able to share insights over the candidate's propensity for sustainable leadership, as well as their personal values and cultural alignment to the MSIF board.

Following an exhaustive search campaign where over thirty potential candidates were engaged and twelve we interviewed by Sherrington Associates, finally a shortlist of four candidates were chosen for the shortlist. Sherrington's team arranged and facilitated the client interviews, then met with members of the MSIF board to debrief at the end of the interview day.

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Result

Following the selection day, two Non-Executive Director's were offered to join the MSIF board and their appointments were ratified shortly after at the April board meeting. Commenting on the experience of retaining Sherrington Associates, MSIF's Chair Neil Ashbridge said...

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