Board advisory for funded, earlier‑stage companies
As part of FountainBlue’s governance and strategic advisory work, Linda Holroyd serves as a certified Non‑Executive Director and board advisor to funded, innovation‑driven companies, with a focus on global technology businesses navigating inflection points.
Linda Holroyd is a course contributor for the IBDC.D community, and is certified through that program as a Non-Executive Director, with an emphasis on Strategic Planning, Change Management, Human Capital Integration for Global Technology Companies.
Linda leverages her broad experience with innovative companies and her network of successful executives and entrepreneurs to help advise CEOs and boards as they proactively manage and lead through times of rapid opportunities amidst challenges.
Drawing on the research, frameworks, tools, programs, and engagements over the past two decades, Linda advises CEOs and directors on strategic planning, change management, and human capital integration, with a specific focus on proactive governance, innovation navigation, and long-term stakeholder value. She specifically helps founding and independent directors:
- Strengthen board readiness and discipline as the company moves through funding rounds and rapid growth
- Integrate fast‑moving operational data, AI‑driven insights, and stakeholder expectations into clear, values‑aligned decisions
- Clarify roles, decision rights, and escalation paths between the board, CEO, and leadership team so governance accelerates execution rather than slowing it down
Linda’s 2024 session ‘The VUCA Vectors: The Art and Science of Seeing Around Corners’ is now part of the IBDC.D board curriculum module on aligning values, vision, and mission within risk oversight.
The premise is that if we consider Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity as vectors we can proactively manage, we can then
A recording of Linda’s talk and slides are freely available on the IBDC.D web site.
1) better shape our strategy,
2) better influence outcomes,
3) better empower internal and external partnerships, and
4) better facilitate alignment with our mission, value and purpose.
This ultimately allows us to optimize for a future we can’t predict, and more agilely respond to the rapidly evolving and interconnected market, technology and geopolitical shifts.
For funded, earlier‑stage companies, Linda typically supports boards by:
- Serving as an independent board member or board advisor with emphasis on strategic planning, change management, and human capital integration
- Designing and facilitating board offsites focused on runway, portfolio bets, and scenario planning in the Age of AI
- Helping CEOs professionalize board operations (materials, cadence, metrics, and committee structures) in preparation for the next financing or strategic transaction
FountainBlue’s web apps offer board members and CEOs practical, on-demand tools that extend and reinforce the advisory work between sessions. The most relevant to board-level governance include:
- AI Readiness Assessment — evaluates organizational maturity and surfaces capability gaps or governance issues that boards need to address proactively
- AI Business Impact Dashboard — helps boards prioritize AI investments by framing financial, operational, compliance, and innovation returns clearly
- Edges & Hurdles — a diagnostic that aligns strategy and operations to identify competitive leverage and constraints, useful for board-level strategy reviews
- HOTL · HITL Scenario Planner — builds board fluency in human-centered AI leadership and oversight responsibilities across 108 realistic scenarios
- Hope Toolkit Companion — digital access to frameworks from Hope in an Age of Disillusionment, covering vision and purpose, strategy and execution, resilience, and impact
Explore the full library at fountainblue.biz/webapps.
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