Soaring demand for guidance on boardroom governance has seen an award-winning financial services adviser drafted in to a consultancy role with commercial law firm Burness Paull LLP.

Malcolm Wood recently stepped down as Group Company Secretary of FTSE100-listed Lloyds Banking Group. Prior to that he successfully led the in-house legal and secretariat teams at Standard Life through demutualisation and listing, and was named UK Company Secretary of the Year.

His expertise includes advising boards and senior executives on governance reviews, regulatory compliance, AGM planning and drafting governance structures.

Wood’s recruitment is the latest in a series of appointments in the specialist area by Burness Paull, which strengthened its offering to clients in June by launching a new service, alongside its core company secretarial advice, dedicated to working with companies to enhance their boardroom governance.

The demand for advice has been driven as boardroom culture and conduct increasingly comes under public and media scrutiny following the high-profile issues experienced by companies such as Thomas Cook, Patisserie Valerie and Carillion. The continued government-driven transparency agenda is also playing a part, as well as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing moving into the mainstream.

Gary Gray, Head of Governance & Company Secretarial Services at Burness Paull, commented: “Since launching our new corporate governance consultancy service we’ve seen significant demand across a variety of sectors, and in particular within financial services.

“A mixture of existing and new clients have been seeking out support in areas including dealing with activist shareholders, director training, governance audits, and ongoing support for board and committee cycles.

“Malcolm’s extensive practical experience of governance within major corporates will be invaluable. It further enhances the specialist advice we can offer, which otherwise can be very challenging for businesses to source.”

Malcolm Wood added: “At a time when the governance landscape is continuing to evolve at pace, I’m looking forward to working with a team that is already a clear leader in its field and to supporting its clients.”