Independent · by appointment
Board seats: an independent technology director for your board.
Boards get asked about technology and cyber risk now, by lenders, insurers, and funders. Most family businesses and nonprofits have no one in the room who can answer. A technology director on the board reads the budget, questions the vendors, and gives the board one clear brief a year.
Illustrative terms. Each appointment letter states the exclusion.
In one sentence
A seat on your board for someone who understands technology, held by one person, never sold with our work.
Independent · by appointment
What this work involves
Public company boards are expected to show oversight of technology and cyber risk. Mid-sized companies, family businesses, and nonprofits face the same questions from lenders, insurers, and funders, and rarely have a member who can answer them.
A technology director on the board reviews the technology budget and questions the IT firm and the vendors. The director can also chair or advise a technology committee, and it gives the board a yearly read on technology and AI risk in plain language.
This is a personal appointment, not a Third Shift service. The board seat is held by our principal as an individual and the fee is paid as ordinary board compensation. We sell nothing to a company where our principal sits. A board member has to be independent of the vendors the board oversees, so a company has one relationship with us or the other, never both.
Who does what
You keep your team, and we take this part.
- The board — Appoints the director and pays the fee.
- The director — Reads, questions, and reports. Personally, not as Third Shift.
- Your IT firm — Answers to the board through that director.
- Third Shift — Sells nothing to that company. Ever.
Who it is for
A fit when
- Boards of mid-sized companies, family businesses, and nonprofits with no technology member
- Companies facing technology or cyber questions from lenders, insurers, or funders
- Founders preparing a board for a sale, a succession, or outside investment
Scope
What it is not
- Not a Third Shift service. The appointment is personal and the fee goes to the director
- Not available to Third Shift clients. A company has our services or our director, never both
- Not a full voting seat by default. Advisory seats first; full seats only after legal review and the right board insurance
Where this has run
Profiles using this work.
Board seats are a personal appointment rather than a company engagement, so no profile is published against it. The other listings show the method at work.
Who buys this
Industries that start here.
Board seats sit outside the service sequence: a company either buys Third Shift services or has the principal on its board, never both.
The order
Part of the sequence, not the whole of it.
This is the entry point for most engagements. The first conversation covers the setup and this work is scoped from what it finds.
Questions
Questions about board seats
Can Third Shift put someone on our board?
Third Shift's principal accepts a small number of board seats as an independent technology director. A board seat is a personal appointment between your board and that person. The fee is paid to the director as ordinary board pay, not to Third Shift. It is listed on this site so the rule about it is public.
Can we have a Third Shift board member and also buy Third Shift services?
No. A company has a Third Shift board member or Third Shift services, never both. A board member must be independent of the vendors the board oversees. If a board seat is held and you later want our services or vCIO, the director resigns the appointment first. If you are a client and want a board member, the engagement ends first.
Advisory board or full board?
Advisory board first. An advisory seat carries no legal duty to the company and can start quickly. A full board seat carries personal liability, so the director takes one only after your lawyer has reviewed it and your directors and officers insurance covers it. Most appointments stay advisory.
What does a technology director actually bring to the board?
A technology director brings the board a member who can read the technology budget and question the IT firm and the vendors. That person can chair or advise a technology committee. And they give the board one clear brief a year in plain language. Most mid-sized boards have no one who can do that today, and lenders and insurers are starting to ask.
Start here
Start with the review.
The first conversation covers your environment, and this work is scoped from what it finds.