Boards and executive teams are navigating a business environment marked by greater speed, complexity, and scrutiny. As geopolitical volatility, shifting regulation, technological change, and stakeholder expectations reshape the agenda, board effectiveness is increasingly defined by how well boards and management identify key issues, debate tradeoffs, and stay aligned through uncertainty. PwC’s Governance Insights Center, in collaboration with The Conference Board, explores these dynamics through its annual survey of more than 500 C-suite executives.
Executives’ views of board effectiveness shift with their level of board exposure
Board effectiveness sentiment continues to improve, with 41% of executives now rating their boards as excellent or good. But that confidence is concentrated among executives closest to the board, suggesting they may have a more nuanced perspective on its challenges, trade-offs, and overall performance.
Director bandwidth and the pace of change are testing board effectiveness
Executives highlight limited capacity and agility as the primary barriers to board effectiveness. In their view, overboarding, slower response to emerging risks and opportunities, and challenges keeping pace with digital transformation are limiting boards’ ability to stay ahead.
AI ambitions outpace board adoption
Executives overwhelmingly think boards should use AI in their oversight role (99%), yet only 35% of directors say their boards are doing so. While some boards are using AI to stay informed, executives see greater potential for it to enhance governance processes and oversight.
Executives see opportunities to increase the impact of board assessments
Board assessments are common practice, but nine out of ten executives believe the process could be improved. They see the greatest opportunity to increase impact when assessments are used not only to assess performance, but to inform board evolution and drive meaningful action in areas like succession planning.
Executives believe they can do more to promote board effectiveness
Executives identified practical ways management can strengthen board effectiveness, with nearly one-third saying management could be more transparent about key risks and challenges and provide clearer follow-through on board input. Effectiveness depends as much on how management enables the board as on how the board operates.
Board effectiveness: A survey of the C-suite
Contact us
Follow us
