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What’s important to the board in 2026
Executive insights
Five topics shaping the corporate director’s agenda
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Rethinking how boards lead through disruption
Change is accelerating and corporate directors are feeling it from every direction. From supply chains to strategy, this uncertainty is pushing leaders to reimagine how their organizations create growth, manage risk, and cut costs.
Even seasoned directors can’t spot every risk. But you can lead with confidence by deepening your strategic lens, modernizing board governance practices, and building a board that’s equipped for what’s next. What stays constant? Your role in using effective board oversight to turn uncertainty into an opportunity to capture value, build resilience, and drive momentum.
In the spotlight
Driving a culture of accountability in the boardroom
Serving as a corporate director has never been tougher—or more essential. The 2025 Annual Corporate Directors Survey shows tension at a peak: 55% of directors say at least one board colleague should be replaced, up six percentage points from last year. Directors appear more candid about underperformance, reflecting rising expectations and the demand for stronger contributions in today’s fast-changing environment.
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[55%] of directors think someone on their board should be replaced, up from 49% in 2024
Where to focus in 2026
Strategy and growth
Shape your board for what’s next
Effective board composition comes down to both leaders with experience and directors with the skills to navigate what’s ahead. As board agendas increasingly focus on AI, geopolitical volatility, evolving trade policy, and sustainability, directors need capabilities that reflect this shift. Yet only 32% of executives say their boards are equipped with the right mix of skills and expertise. That gap signals opportunities to reshape your board’s composition, strengthen oversight, and build a foundation for long-term impact. Leading boards regularly evaluate their performance using structured, leading-practice assessments that blend quantitative and qualitative inputs, with the results being discussed regularly.
Top insights
Board governance
Why boards should evaluate individual director performance
Assessing a director’s performance can identify skill gaps, improve dynamics, and confirm alignment with your company’s strategy.
Board composition
Mastering boardroom communication: 5 essentials for executives
These strategies can help C-suite leaders strengthen collaboration and alignment with your boards.
Board composition
The nine questions you need to ask to take your board from good to great
How can you boost effectiveness and efficiency to improve oversight? By asking key questions on board composition, performance assessments, and leadership.
[93%] of executives say they want someone on the board replaced
Risk and regulatory
Build resilience into every decision
Resilience isn’t built in the moment. It should be built into every decision the board makes. While our 2025 Annual Corporate Director Survey finds that almost all respondents believe their boards are capable of guiding their companies through a crisis, previous surveys have found that many companies still do not have a formal escalation plan in place. That gap elevates risk. Overconfidence won’t prepare companies for the realities of disruption, from cyber threats to supply chain volatility. Gain a greater understanding of risks, even those buried deep in your supply chain. Boards can protect value and steer through interconnected risks with confidence by confronting these blind spots, strengthening crisis strategy, and embedding resilience into oversight.
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Risk management
Being prepared for the next crisis: The board’s role
Learn why preparation is key to your company’s crisis recovery. Boards can facilitate robust, flexible crisis plans and engage in continuous improvement.
Risk
Oversight in the AI era: Understanding the audit committee’s role
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Cybersecurity and privacy
The board's role in overseeing cybersecurity
In an era when cyber attacks dominate headlines and regulatory expectations are rising, boards cannot treat cybersecurity as a distant IT issue.
[49%] of directors say their boards are sufficiently invested in the board’s performance assessment process
Board governance
Connect with purpose, transparency, and impact
Many across the business still don’t understand the board’s role and it shows. PwC’s Board Effectiveness survey indicates that just 35% of executives think their board’s effectiveness is excellent or good. Confidence is growing, but alignment isn’t. Executives are calling for stronger oversight on AI, cyber, and talent. What’s missing? Clearer priorities and deeper board-executive engagement. To lead at pace and with purpose, boards should focus, prioritize, and act.
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Board governance
Mastering boardroom communication: five essentials for executives
Whether you’ve been meeting with the board regularly for years or are in a new role that’s landing you on the agenda, your interactions with directors establish your credibility with the board.
Board governance
Director-shareholder engagement: Getting it right
Effective director-shareholder engagement benefits both parties. Discover key steps for directors and investors to increase these exchanges.
[55%] of investors are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with how management connects sustainability to long-term growth in engagements and communications
Artificial intelligence
Rethink oversight in the AI era
AI has the potential to transform your company with unprecedented speed. The rules of competition are changing fast and your strategy can’t be static. Embedding AI across the business can help you capture value faster, spot risks earlier, and unlock new revenue streams. But realizing that upside depends on trust. It’s up to the board to make sure AI is used responsibly, with AI governance that spans risk, transparency, and results. That requires tapping both internal specialists and external perspectives to stay ahead of evolving capabilities, emerging use cases, and shifting regulatory expectations. Strategy sets the pace. Oversight keeps it grounded.
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Artificial intelligence
Midyear update: 2025 AI predictions
PwC’s AI predictions look at industry insights and trends shaping AIs role in business transformation. Check out whether our predictions are holding up.
Artificial intelligence
How boards can effectively oversee AI to drive value and responsible use
Six key areas can help a board provide effective AI oversight.
Emerging technology
Oversight in the AI era: Understanding the audit committee’s role
Artificial intelligence is no longer on the business sidelines—it’s at the core of strategy, operations, innovation, and growth.
[1/3] of CEOs say GenAI has increased revenue and profitability over the past year
Sustainability
Turn regulatory pressure into strategic momentum
Evolving regulations, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and new climate-related disclosure laws in California, are reshaping how companies collect and report sustainability data. For boards, this is more than a reporting exercise. It’s an opportunity to embed sustainability into oversight, strategy, and long-term risk management. When sustainability data insights are integrated across planning, operations, and reporting, directors gain clearer visibility into emerging risks and strategic opportunities, helping the organization move with confidence. The result? A business that’s more agile, resilient, and ready for what’s next.
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Sustainability
Sustainability and ESG oversight: The corporate director's guide
Understand your board’s role in overseeing environmental, social, and governance issues.
Sustainability
PwC’s Sustainability News Brief
Your resource for sustainability insights on strategy, reporting, energy demand, capital projects, tax policy, climate risk, regulatory updates, and technology.
Regulation and policy
How your company could increase the ROI of its sustainability strategy
Technology can help you take advantage of sustainability tax incentives and credits, like the Inflation Reduction Act, to advance the value of sustainability initiatives.
[50%] of executives want more board time spent on ESG issues
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