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Review the results from a survey that gathered data from over 870 board members, executives, and governance professionals across organizations and industries globally. The diverse respondents offer a comprehensive view of corporate governance trends and practices and anticipated 2025 board priorities.
The goal of this report is to provide data and insights on corporate governance matters to help boards assess and improve their quality of governance and overall effectiveness across five key areas:
- Board composition and culture
- Board evaluations
- CEO evaluations and management oversight
- Governance practices, processes, and tools
- Strategic and risk topics on the horizon
Key Findings
Effective boards are premised upon prioritizing competencies that enable decision-making and oversight of important areas.
35% of survey respondents emphasize focus on AI and machine learning to enhance board composition and alignment with the organization’s strategy, along with cybersecurity and data privacy (34%) and technology and innovation (28%).
Regular board evaluations help drive continuous board improvement and good governance.
72% of survey respondents who conduct a board evaluation report the reason stems from the desire to increase the board’s effectiveness and only 8% of respondents report that shareholders, owners, or stakeholders require the board to conduct an evaluation.
Organizations benefit when CEO evaluations are designed to provide accountability and guidance for growth and long-term success.
Although 78% of survey respondents review the CEO’s achievement of performance goals defined in the compensation plan, only 50% regularly discuss the CEO’s performance.
Boards are implementing new meeting structures and tools that lead to greater efficiencies and deepen engagement.
73% of respondents indicate their board utilizes a hybrid meeting structure (in-person and virtual) and 47% report executive sessions occur at every board meeting.
The board can provide value to management in establishing strategic direction and overseeing execution of the strategic plan.
94% of survey respondents report their board monitors strategy execution, with 51% doing so through a defined framework with KPIs and 43% reviewing informal or periodic reports from management.
