{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Boardroom Path","title":"The Scale-Up Capital Crisis: Alasdair Haynes on Why the IPO Process Must Change","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2532,"description":"Is the UK truly \"rubbish\" at scaling up its most promising companies?Host Ralph Grayson welcomes financial markets trailblazer Alasdair Haynes, founder and now President of Aquis Exchange, for an honest discussion on building and scaling a disruptive business. Alasdair shares his 48-year journey, from City trading floors to successfully exiting Aquis to SIX Group, and provides a firsthand account of the founder-to-President transition. The conversation dissects the critical importance of board evolution and founder succession planning, emphasising that it must be for the \"common good\" of the company, not a mere \"tick box exercise\". They dive deep into the urgency of reforming the equity markets to make the IPO process more straightforward, cheaper, and faster for small, growth companies. This push for public market revival is especially relevant as global IPO proceeds surged 89% year-over-year in Q3 2025, demonstrating renewed investor confidence worldwide. Alasdair introduces his \"three stages of company growth\" model and passionately argues for a governance structure that is proportionate, allowing entrepreneurs to focus 90% of their time on building the business.Alasdair Haynes: Founder and President of Aquis Exchange (SIX Group). A visionary financial markets executive with nearly five decades of experience, Alasdair is celebrated for disrupting traditional exchange models, notably by pioneering a subscription-based pricing structure at Aquis. He previously served as CEO of Chi-X Europe and is an inaugural Chair of TheCityUK's Business Council, and sits on the UK FCA's Practitioners' Panel. His expertise lies in championing open, fair, and innovative capital markets and reforming the accessibility of scale-up capital for growth companies.Ralph Grayson: Ralph Grayson is a Partner in the Board Practice at Sainty Hird & Partners, bringing extensive experience in board-level recruitment, assessment, and advisory services. With a deep understanding of the...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/G1uU7T2K5h04MQMPyxv_eCIOS7fQfv5ldjQOH6K6dHU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80MzQ1/YWYwZWI5NzIzMmIz/NzEyYWJiNTJhZGEy/NTUzOC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}