London, UK, 25 November 2024 — Board Intelligence, the market-leading board management software and board advisory provider, today announces the appointment of Ann Hiatt and Merline Saintil to its board. The appointments follow the recent announcement of Board Intelligence’s acquisition of TeamEngine, a Stockholm-based board software provider. Ann and Merline bring critical expertise to Board Intelligence’s board as the firm continues to strengthen its category-leading position through strategic acquisitions, organic growth, product development, and geographic expansion.
Ann Hiatt, a Silicon Valley veteran, having been executive business partner to Jeff Bezos (founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of Amazon) and chief of staff to Eric Schmidt (former CEO and executive chairman of Google/Alphabet), joins the Board Intelligence board as chair. Merline Saintil, a former software engineer who was named in the “Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune in 2022 and holds a portfolio of Fortune 100 and private company board roles, joins as a non-executive director.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ann and Merline to our board,” said Pippa Begg, CEO of Board Intelligence. “They share our passion for the importance of effective boards and leadership teams, and our curiosity for scientific methodologies, principles and practices that deliver the greatest impact. Their expertise in helping scale eminent global technology businesses and experience of working with — and on — the boards of pioneering companies, and their international connectivity will be invaluable as we focus on strengthening our category-leading position organically and via acquisitions.”
In addition to joining the board, Ann has partnered with Board Intelligence to design a new suite of transformation programs for Enterprise organisations that will help them deliver the culture of innovation, high-velocity decision-making, and forward-thinking leadership that Amazon and Google are famed for.
Ann Hiatt said: “It is exciting to become chair of Board Intelligence at a time when the business is expanding its capabilities and its international reach. As I join, Board Intelligence has just completed research which finds that 83% of UK boards don’t believe their businesses are currently positioned to harness the opportunities afforded by AI. AI is just one example of an area in which companies face potentially transformational changes and where their success will depend on making clear, well-informed, and possibly uncomfortable decisions quickly. The best boards and management teams, particularly in the tech sector, have stayed ahead of the curve, ensuring that their companies are the disruptors, rather than the disrupted. Our aim is to equip boards with methodologies and tools that underpin the science of board effectiveness to do the same, at pace and at scale.”
Board Intelligence is the UK’s largest board technology and advisory firm. Trusted by more than 70,000 leaders across the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100, Board Intelligence supercharges boards with the science of board effectiveness. For more information, visit boardintelligence.com and follow on LinkedIn.
Julia Wright, Edelman Smithfield
julia.wright@edelmansmithfield.com
+44 (0) 7900 227672
Alfie Tisdall, Edelman Smithfield
alfie.tisdall@edelmansmithfield.com
+44 (0) 7 581 025 104