Better Boards

What Better Boards does

Better Boards Limited is a UK-based private consultancy (registered in England and Wales, 2014) that helps governing boards, executive committees, and professional service firms evaluate and improve board effectiveness. The company was founded and is led by Dr Sabine Dembkowski and operates with a small team (1–10 employees) from Maidenhead and London, serving clients primarily in the UK and Germany. Its offer spans fully facilitated external board evaluations using the proprietary ALIGN five-step process, self-directed internal board evaluations on its SaaS platform, and a Licensed Partner Program for advisory firms; revenue streams are predominantly annual subscriptions and project-based professional services engagements. The underlying technology is an AI-enhanced SaaS platform with ISO 27001 certification, built on the proprietary peer-reviewed 7 Hallmarks of Effective Boards methodology published in the US, UK, and Europe, which translates qualitative board dynamics into measurable, benchmarked individual and collective reports. Customer logos span major enterprises across banking, financial services, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, energy, real estate, aerospace, education, airlines, professional services, and nonprofit/arts sectors, including Nationwide Building Society, NHS, DHL, Mercedes-Benz, National Grid, EasyJet, Vonovia, and the Egon Zehnder partnership. The company complements its evaluation services with a top-10 governance podcast and content marketing, and holds memberships with the European Corporate Governance Institute and techUK.

Name

Better Boards

Legal name

Better Boards Limited

Website

https://better-boards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Better Boards is a UK-based private consultancy whose AI-enhanced SaaS platform and facilitation services help governing boards, executive committees, and professional service firms run data-driven board evaluations using its proprietary 7 Hallmarks methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Board Governance & Effectiveness Software

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Board evaluation software
• Corporate governance consulting
• Board effectiveness platform
• Executive committee review
• Governance SaaS solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: AI-powered board intelligence platform delivered as subscription access. Users can run evaluations independently with ongoing actionable insights based on proprietary research plus access to comparative benchmarking data.
2. Facilitated External Board Evaluations: Fully-facilitated external board evaluations using the ALIGN five-step process. Expert consultants provide fresh, independent lens on board performance with in-depth insights into board dynamics.
3. Licensed Partner Program: Professional service firms gain access to Better Boards platform, data, and proven methodology to offer board evaluations to their clients without development overhead or maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Better Boards provides board effectiveness evaluations through an AI-powered SaaS platform combined with expert-facilitated consulting. Clients can choose fully-facilitated external board evaluations using the proprietary ALIGN five-step process or self-driven internal evaluations accessing benchmarking data and individual director reports. The offering is grounded in the proprietary 7 Hallmarks of Effective Boards research methodology and serves governing boards, executive committees, and professional service firms.

Product overview

Better Boards offers a unified platform combining AI-powered technology with proprietary research methodology. The core offering consists of the Better Boards SaaS Platform for board evaluations, available through fully-facilitated External Board Evaluations (using the ALIGN five-step process) or self-directed Internal Board Evaluations. The 7 Hallmarks of Effective Boards framework underpins all evaluations, providing the research backbone for benchmarking and diagnostic insights. The platform delivers individual reports for each Director plus collective board assessments. A complementary Podcast Series provides ongoing thought leadership content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Better Boards SaaS Platform: AI-powered SaaS platform for board evaluations offering data-driven insights, benchmarking, and individual reports for directors
• Better Boards Podcast Series
• ALIGN Process

Products and services

• Better Boards SaaS Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Board effectiveness linked to quantifiable financial results

Named customers39 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ECGI (European Corporate Governance Institute)minorOthersInternational scientific non-profit organisation providing forum for exchange between science, legislation and practice. Focus on corporate governance and best practices. ECGI conducts, commissions and disseminates pioneering research on corporate governance based on impartial and objective research and the collective knowledge of its members to advise on policy development and best practice.
• techUKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBetter Boards joined techUK, a technology trade membership organisation. Partnership provides industry recognition and access to UK tech ecosystem.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Board Intelligence: UK-based SaaS provider focused on helping boards prepare for meetings and improve effectiveness through structured intelligence tools. Closest direct competitor to Better Boards in the board effectiveness SaaS category with overlapping UK enterprise customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Diligent Corporation: Large global governance, risk and compliance SaaS platform offering board portals, evaluations and ESG tools to enterprise and public-sector boards. A broader incumbent that competes for board governance wallet share but is not specialised in board effectiveness advisory.
• Nasdaq Governance Solutions (including Boardvantage): Provider of board portal, entity management and governance solutions used by large public and private companies. Adjacent to Better Boards in addressing board workflows but broader in scope and tied to Nasdaq's enterprise distribution.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated board and CEO practice that includes board effectiveness reviews. A broad incumbent offering governance advisory as part of a wider talent and leadership portfolio rather than a SaaS product.
• Korn Ferry: Global organisational consulting firm providing board and CEO advisory, executive search and governance services. Comparable to Better Boards as it serves boards seeking effectiveness and succession support, but as part of a much larger talent consulting platform.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Executive search and leadership advisory firm with a board and CEO practice offering board evaluation, composition and effectiveness services. Targets a similar enterprise buyer as Better Boards but through a consulting-led model rather than a SaaS platform.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with established board effectiveness and chair succession practices. Already listed as a Better Boards client, illustrating the overlap in target buyer between specialist board evaluation and broader leadership advisory.
• PwC Governance and Board Advisory: Big 4 advisory practice providing corporate governance, board effectiveness and boardroom reviews to large listed and private clients. A broad incumbent that competes on governance advisory but without a dedicated AI-led SaaS evaluation platform.

Emerging players

• Convene (Diligent Boards): Board portal and meeting management platform that has expanded into governance, ESG and board evaluation workflows. Targets the same enterprise board buyer as Better Boards but is more focused on meeting logistics and document collaboration than evaluation methodology.
• Lattice: People management platform offering performance reviews, goals and engagement tools used by executive and management teams. Adjacent to Better Boards in providing structured performance and effectiveness feedback tools for leadership teams.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/betterboardseu

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Better Boards