Trent Smyth

The harder question is whether organisations get real value from the role or only the appearance of it.

• They argue that too many still define the job around visible tasks such as calendars and logistics.
• Its value lies instead in a principal who understands the role and a chief of staff who can shape strategy, absorb complexity and think about what the organisation is becoming.
• That requires a clear mandate and scope, and a principal who treats the role as a genuine partnership rather than an extension of their own diary.

The post contrasts task administration with strategic work and invites readers to COS26 at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., on 22 and 23 October to discuss how to build the role properly.

Five years ago, the debate was about legitimacy; Trent Smyth now treats that as settled and turns to implementation and value. The post says organisations can get real value from the role; ask for evidence of the results.

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Trade policy is now a boardroom conversation, supply-chain decisions carry political risk, and regulatory frameworks shift faster than strategy cycles.

• Organisations navigate this well not by having the best intelligence, they argue, but by having someone who can read what is happening and translate it into decisions that hold under pressure.
• Smyth says that describes a chief of staff at their best—and a skill set most organisations are only beginning to take seriously.

The post names trade policy, supply-chain political risk and shifting regulation as external pressures, then invites members and guests to the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., on 22 to 23 October 2026.

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Kaitlin Boileau is described as having lived the chief-of-staff role: they previously served as chief of staff to a global management committee member at Accenture, supported a billion-dollar business unit, and worked as a fractional chief of staff with CEOs of professional services and venture-backed firms.

• Susan Scutt is described as bringing more than 25 years across consulting, corporate and private equity environments, with senior chief-of-staff and portfolio-operations roles at Vista Equity Partners, TCV and Partners Group, translating strategy into execution.
• Smyth presents those backgrounds as the reason the group can work with investors and portfolio companies where strategy meets execution.

Boileau led executive recruiting and consulting practices at Vannin Chief of Staff, helping CEOs across private equity, family office and scaling businesses find a chief of staff at moments of growth, transformation and succession. Scutt's appointment is framed as adding depth to consulting, recruiting, executive support and growth advisory.

The posts follow Vannin Chief of Staff's acquisition by The Chief of Staff Association and present the combined group as expanding into investor and portfolio-company work.

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One frames it as a conversation about building the chief-of-staff role properly so it delivers everything it can; the other invites attendees to examine the geopolitical demands now falling on the role.

• The appointment posts extend the same institutional project: they announce senior hires into The Chief of Staff Association and Vannin Chief of Staff and describe a combined offering across consulting, recruiting, executive support and growth advisory.
• The focus is both commentary on the role and building an organisation and event cycle around it.

Event invitations appear in the posts on legitimacy and geopolitics, while the appointment posts name Boileau's US-based Managing Director role and Scutt's addition to Vannin.

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Newcomers can start here for a clear map of its purpose: not calendar support, but strategy, complexity and a principal who treats the chief of staff as a partner.

Trent Smyth says the debate over whether the chief-of-staff role is legitimate is settled, citing coverage by Bloomberg, The New York Times and Fortune.

• The harder question is whether organisations are set up to get real value from the role.
• They distinguish visible tasks such as calendars and logistics from higher-value work: shaping strategy, absorbing complexity and thinking about what the organisation is becoming.
• The post argues that this requires a clear mandate and scope, and a principal who treats the role as a genuine partnership rather than an extension of their diary.
• It invites readers to COS26 at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. on 22 and 23 October.

For brands planning a campaign

For a management consulting firm assessing executive-function insights, this post makes a direct case for structuring the chief-of-staff role to deliver strategic output. It supports campaign angles on mandate design, executive operating models and the difference between administrative and decision support.

Start here to see Trent Smyth connect trade policy, supply chains and regulation to everyday executive decision support.

Trent Smyth argues that most chiefs of staff were not hired to think about geopolitics, but the job increasingly requires it.

• Trade policy has become a boardroom conversation; supply-chain choices carry political risk; and regulatory frameworks shift faster than strategy cycles.
• They say organisations that navigate these pressures need someone who can interpret events and translate them into decisions that hold under pressure—not simply the best intelligence.
• The post frames this as a chief-of-staff skill set and invites members and guests to the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. on 22 to 23 October 2026.

For brands planning a campaign

This post offers evidence for a consulting campaign focused on executive function amid external uncertainty. It suggests angles around decision support, risk translation and the chief of staff as a filter between geopolitical change and executive action.

Newcomers can see the kind of operating experience the organisation considers credible.

Trent Smyth announces Kaitlin Boileau's appointment as Managing Director at The Chief of Staff Association, based in its US office.

• Many will know Boileau from Vannin Chief of Staff, described as the original chief-of-staff consultancy, which the association acquired late the previous year.
• As Managing Partner, Boileau led executive recruiting and consulting practices, helping CEOs in private equity, family office and scaling businesses find chiefs of staff during growth, transformation and succession.
• They have also held the role: before Vannin, Boileau was chief of staff to a global management committee member at Accenture, supporting a billion-dollar business unit, and worked as a fractional chief of staff with CEOs of professional services and venture-backed firms.

For brands planning a campaign

For campaigns involving executive recruiting, private equity portfolio support or leadership transitions, this post showcases the association's talent bench and the experience it promotes. It supports a campaign angle on recruiting credibility and the value of a chief of staff who has held the role.

Trent Smyth welcomes Susan Scutt to Vannin Chief of Staff, a Chief of Staff Association company.

• Scutt brings more than 25 years of experience across consulting, corporate and private equity environments.
• They built their career at Vista Equity Partners, TCV and Partners Group, where they held senior chief-of-staff and portfolio-operations roles, translating strategy into execution in demanding investment environments.
• The appointment reflects where the group is heading, Smyth writes: working closely with investors and their portfolio companies where strategy meets execution and the chief-of-staff role creates measurable value.
• The post lists consulting, recruiting, executive support and growth advisory among the capabilities the group is bringing together.

For brands planning a campaign

This post is relevant to campaigns aimed at investors, portfolio companies or professional-services buyers. It shows the group positioning the chief-of-staff function around strategy-to-execution work, not just administrative support.

The live question, in their framing, is whether organisations are set up to get real value from the role or only the appearance of it.

• Too many still define the job around visible tasks such as calendars and logistics, when its value comes from pairing a principal who understands the role with a chief of staff who can shape strategy, absorb complexity and think about what the organisation is becoming.
• Smyth sets out what that takes: a clear mandate, clear scope, and a principal who treats the role as a genuine partnership rather than an extension of their own diary.

For brands planning a campaign

A consulting or advisory brand gets a ready-made diagnosis and prescription from this post: roles defined by task administration fail, while roles built on mandate and scope deliver. It offers a point of view a firm can build a workshop, briefing series or diagnostic offer around, rather than a product endorsement, and speaks directly to a brief about executive function.

Examples: Source 1

Trade policy has become a boardroom conversation, supply chain decisions carry political risk, and regulatory frameworks shift faster than strategy cycles.

• In Smyth's account, the organisations navigating this well are not the ones with the best intelligence but those with someone who can read what is happening and translate it into decisions that hold under pressure.
• They describe that as what a chief of staff does at their best, and a skill set most organisations are only beginning to take seriously.

For brands planning a campaign

The claim is about a capability gap in the executive suite, making it a fit for risk, policy and strategy-adjacent brands seeking thought leadership rather than a direct product pitch. It also offers a crisp angle for an event or briefing-series sponsorship aimed at people close to a principal making consequential decisions.

Examples: Source 1

COS26 takes place at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. on 22 and 23 October.

• One post presents it as the place to discuss how to build the chief-of-staff role properly so it delivers everything it can; the other invites members and guests to examine the geopolitical demands now falling on the role.
• Both close with a direct invitation and a link.
• The second is addressed to people close to a principal making consequential decisions.

Event promotion and personal invitations, rather than reported analysis of the subject.

For brands planning a campaign

Smyth's publishing rhythm is tied to a live event and a membership organisation, so a brand seeking event association, a speaking slot or on-site content should time its approach to a convening cycle. The proposition is framed around professional development for the field, not product placement.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Kaitlin Boileau becomes Managing Director at The Chief of Staff Association in its US office, having come through Vannin Chief of Staff, described as the original chief of staff consultancy and acquired late the previous year.

• As Managing Partner there, Boileau led both the executive recruiting and consulting practices, helping CEOs across private equity, family office and scaling businesses find a chief of staff at moments of growth, transformation and succession.
• Susan Scutt joins Vannin with more than 25 years across consulting, corporate and private equity environments, including senior chief of staff and portfolio operations roles at Vista Equity Partners, TCV and Partners Group, translating strategy into execution in demanding investment environments.
• Smyth says the appointments reflect a direction of travel: working with investors and their portfolio companies where strategy meets execution, and adding depth across consulting, recruiting, executive support and growth advisory.

For brands planning a campaign

These posts show an organisation in a hiring and integration phase, and identify who now carries the client relationships. For a brand selling into professional-services firms, they signal where the group is investing and which capabilities it is presenting as a single offering.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Boileau is described as having lived the chief-of-staff role, previously serving as chief of staff to a global management committee member at Accenture and supporting a billion-dollar business unit, alongside work as a fractional chief of staff to CEOs of professional services and venture-backed firms.

• Smyth writes that this experience shows in how Boileau builds and delivers.
• Scutt's operational background is presented as the reason the group can work with investors at the point where strategy meets execution.

Smyth describes the group's direction as creating "genuine, measurable value"; ask for evidence of results delivered.

For brands planning a campaign

The credibility argument rests on operators, not a published method. A brand assessing Smyth for executive-function insights should ask whether their writing goes beyond appointment announcements into operational detail.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Announcing Kaitlin Boileau's appointment as Managing Director, Smyth says she will be "based in our US office," and describing Susan Scutt's hire Smyth refers to "where our group is heading." Smyth also invites members and guests to an association event rather than commenting as an outsider, which places Smyth inside the organisation rather than alongside it.

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In another, Smyth says the group acquired Vannin “late last year” and notes that its managing partner at the time, Kaitlin Boileau, ran both the executive recruiting and consulting practices. The posts attribute the acquisition and ownership to the association, not Smyth personally.

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The posts establish a venue relationship, not sponsorship or client work.

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Both judge a role by what the person can deliver, not by the title.

Beazley writes about technology leadership — CTO, CIO and Chief AI Officer hires and research on how AI is changing those mandates — while Trent Smyth covers the chief-of-staff function and the working relationship between a principal and their chief of staff.

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Anderson writes about board seats and women's access to governance roles, with named board directories and readiness steps, while Trent Smyth covers the chief-of-staff operating role and efforts to professionalise it through an association and a convening cycle.

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Both make the argument concrete with specific figures.

Healy writes about firm valuation, founder discounts and business-development systems across a whole firm, while Trent Smyth covers the chief-of-staff role and external pressures on a principal's decision-making.

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Healy's two posts treat founder dependency as an expensive sales problem: a 10–25% key-person discount, attributed to valuation specialist Shannon Pratt, that removes roughly £3.7m from a potential £21m valuation on a £3m EBITDA firm at a 7x multiple, or £1.5m off a £7.5m firm at a 20% discount.

• The posts then set out what to build instead — business development skills at every stage of the sale, a diagnostic that puts a number on the client's problem, proposals that read as the client's own case for change, protected BD time booked weeks ahead, written key-account plans, a CRM partners actually use, and relationships spread so every major client knows more than one person.
• They lean on outside evidence (Matt Dixon on consultants resisting the sales label; a RAIN Group study of 397 organisations finding top key-account performers three times more likely to grow existing account revenue by 20% or more).
• If registrations from the firm's existing client list are the success measure and those clients are firm owners, Healy addresses them directly, in their own numbers, with a next step to act on.

The subject changes, not just the voice.

• Healy writes about how a consultancy wins and keeps work; neither post touches the chief-of-staff role or executive function, leaving the named-practitioner centrepiece of the Smyth series without a counterpart.
• The reader is a firm founder or partner weighing the value of their business, not a principal setting up an executive-support function.
• Both posts are short and argument-led, carrying other people's research rather than a method of their own, and each closes with an offer of the author's own services.
• Ask for partnership terms, rates and an inquiry route; none are published in the posts.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Beazley's posts argue that AI is raising the standard expected of technology leaders and that a title can conceal a different job: one leader holds a combined CIO and CTO role, reports to the CEO and sits on the executive leadership team, while another wants a Series A or B business with visible, direct impact rather than another executive seat in a 300-person organisation.

• The proposed remedy is to run the appointment as a mapped, direct search, on the argument that an advertised post tells you who applied, not who the best person is.
• A firm selling assessment or hiring support for technology roles to boards and CEOs making those appointments is speaking to the reader these posts assume.

The topic and reader both move away from the chief-of-staff campaign.

• The posts say nothing about the chief-of-staff role or executive-function design, so the series would need to be rebuilt around technology search, with a hiring board as its audience instead of a principal designing an executive function.
• The posts also read closer to a search firm's own funnel: one groups third-party findings (applications to technology and media roles up 40% per Workday; a Stack Overflow job-satisfaction figure; Thoughtworks and Karat results) and points readers to the author's own article; the other makes a case for over advertised search.
• Neither supplies a diagnostic the consulting firm can hand to a client, so the firm would still need to provide the method.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Anderson's board post argues that another panel telling women to "take a seat at the table" misses the private rooms where board seats are actually assigned, gives current figures (29.9% of Russell 3000 board seats held by women, under 8% by women of color), and offers practical help: a list of named routes with links — 50/50 Women on Boards Denver, Forté Global Board Ready Women, BoardProspects, Private Directors Association, BoardLead, BoardSource and Denver boards and commissions — plus scripted next steps such as building a board bio and saying plainly, "I am actively pursuing board service."

• A second post explains Salesforce and Anthropic's "Claudeforce" launch and argues that AI is becoming the interface to enterprise software rather than an add-on.
• If the consulting firm's brief moves to board composition or to how AI changes the way enterprise systems are actually used, Anderson gives the reader something to do.

Neither post bears on the chief-of-staff role or how it should be set up, leaving the campaign's centrepiece without a match.

• The board post is a curated directory and an invitation to comment, which suits a resource-and-community task better than a practitioner-view series judged on registrations; the AI post is commentary on a vendor launch, tied to an open beta planned for September 2026.
• Adopting Anderson means changing the buyer task itself — from "how should this role be built" to "where do I look and what do I say" — and choosing a generalist commentator over a specialist voice.
• Both posts carry the same publication date: 28 August 2026.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2