Certified Board Member Course: Domenico Blyth
When Domenico Blyth, Founder and Managing Director of ABACUS Corporate Finance Oy, wanted to deepen his understanding of how boards operate, he turned to the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Certified Board Member course. What he gained went beyond his original expectations and led to an interest he did not anticipate.
Through ABACUS, Domenico provides M&A and corporate finance advisory to small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe, with a particular focus on family-owned companies navigating succession and sell-side processes. With nearly 20 years in the field and more than 50 mid-market deals completed, his work regularly brings him into contact with board members. He had also taken on interim leadership roles, including CFO at Merima Oy in Finland, where he reported directly to the board.
At some point, he felt it was time to get a clearer picture of the board’s perspective from the inside.
Two perspectives, one big gap
For Domenico, the gap between advisory work and board work has become increasingly clear. Advisory work is about finding fast solutions and solving the problem in front of you. Board work demands something different.
“The board perspective is more long-term. You must focus on strategic goals and the ownership strategy. It is a different perspective. Obviously, there are times when you must think on your feet and make fast decisions, but overall, it is a different way of thinking.”
He wanted to understand better what is legally required of a board. What is realistic for a board to take on, and how? And how do the roles of owners, board members, and the management team relate to each other, especially in family-owned companies where one person often wears all three hats at once?
He had known about the Certified Board Member course in Finnish years earlier, as the program was well known in Finnish business circles. When Domenico found it was available in English, he signed up.
A trusted source for a serious topic
Choosing the Finland Chamber of Commerce was a deliberate decision. Domenico is also a member of the Finnish-German Chamber of Commerce and values the credibility that established institutions carry.
“Board work is a serious topic. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it the right way.”
More practical and eye-opening than expected
Domenico completed the course at the end of 2024. He especially enjoyed the hands-on day where participants worked together as a board for a company, bringing their collective expertise to real decisions.
“I was happy the course was not only theoretical but had a lot of practical content. We had lecturers with a lot of board experience from different fields. With the participants having quite different backgrounds, the discussions in smaller groups were really insightful. If you only have ten finance people sitting together, most of them are probably going to have similar opinions. Having people with diverse backgrounds broadens the perspective considerably.”
The legal dimension of board work was one of the most impactful themes for him.
“Board work goes far beyond what I was expecting. It is not only strategy work. It can go down to things like whether the company actually has all the permits needed to operate in its business field. There might be a lot of board professionals who do not even know these things and it would be good to have this knowledge before you sit on a board.”
A new lens and a new ambition
One of the most lasting insights from the course was the long-term value creation mindset that board membership requires. The board sits between the ownership strategy and the management team, aligning both and translating vision into reality together with the CEO. For Domenico, who advises family-owned companies on some of the most significant decisions they will ever make, this perspective added a meaningful new dimension to his work.
“I have strengthened my competence in the governance of companies with a board and in what the board should focus on. I now understand better what board work truly entails. Since doing the course, I have already had conversations with people where I could point out things they did not know, even people who are currently on a board.”
Domenico joined the course primarily to sharpen his advisory work. He left with something more. When the official certification exam became available in English, as it had not been at the time of the course, he jumped at the opportunity to take it.
“Initially my interest came from my consulting work: understanding the board perspective to do my job better. But after the course and the exam, I would also be interested in joining a board myself.”
He has already recommended the course to several people in his network.
“I would not have minded one or two more sessions. It was really genuinely interesting. And not only because of the board work topic itself. It is also a great networking opportunity. You meet interesting people. And even if you do not want to get on a board yourself, it gives you an excellent perspective on how a board in a Finnish company should work.”