Patrick Delaney

Governance columnist

Patrick Delaney advises trade associations and federated membership bodies on governance, having spent the first half of his career as an association chief executive and the second telling other people’s boards what he wishes someone had told his.

For Associations he covers the institutional side of the sector: mergers and federations, trustee pipelines, competition law for trade bodies, and the awards seasons where the sector marks its own homework. His register is senior and statesmanlike, and he has sat through more extraordinary general meetings than anyone should have to.

His standing question for any board: what does this decision look like in the minutes, five years from now?