Board decision-making under pressure as AI forces leaders into higher-stakes choices

LONDON, 11 June 2026 – Company boards are struggling to adapt their approach to a more complex and technology-driven business environment, according to new research from Board Intelligence, EMEA's largest board technology and advisory firm.

The latest edition of the Board Value Index, which surveyed more than 400 non-executive directors, CEOs, and CFOs from companies with over £50 million in turnover across the UK, US, Nordics, and Middle East, found that 86% of directors say overly rigid or inconsistent decision-making frameworks have contributed to delayed, rushed, or poor decisions in the past six months.

While boards recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) and technological disruption will fundamentally reshape the organisations they oversee, many appear far less prepared to transform the way boards themselves operate. 40% of respondents believe there will be either no meaningful change (8%) or only minor adjustments (32%) to how boards themselves operate over the next five years, while just 8% think boards will need to be completely reimagined. This indicates that boards may still be underestimating how profoundly emerging technologies and fast-changing business risks will reshape governance, oversight and decision-making itself.

Boards are also falling short as drivers of organisational value. Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents do not view their board as an essential tool for value creation, while only 18% say their board strongly enables innovation.

Respondents most commonly cited decision-making frameworks or processes (34%), clarity of roles and responsibilities between boards, executives and committees (32%), and the quality of information provided to the board (29%) as the biggest obstacles to faster, more effective decision-making in the boardroom.

"The environment boards are operating in today is fundamentally different from even a few months ago, but governance has not kept pace," said Pippa Begg, CEO and co-founder of Board Intelligence. "Boards are being tested on more than their ability to provide oversight and compliance. They are increasingly being measured by the quality, speed, and clarity of their decision-making in much more uncertain and fast-moving conditions.

"Yet many boards still rely on structures, information flows and behaviours designed for a different era. That becomes particularly problematic when boards are being asked to oversee issues like AI adoption, technological disruption, and organisational transformation, where decisions are more complex, more interconnected, and carry greater long-term consequences."

The findings also point to a growing disconnect inside boardrooms around innovation and transformation. While 27% of CEOs and CFOs say their board strongly enables innovation, only 12% of non-executive directors agree, suggesting many independent directors do not feel they have the tools, visibility, or confidence to drive innovation effectively.

Boards remain too backward-looking as AI and quantum computing rapidly move up the agenda

At the same time, many boards are still spending too much time focused on past performance rather than future growth. More than two in five directors (41%) say their board spends at least half of meeting time looking backwards rather than planning future strategy and growth.

UK boards appear particularly backward-looking. More than half (51%) of UK directors say half or more of their meeting time is spent reviewing past performance, compared with 29% in the US, 38% in the Middle East, and 44% in the Nordics.

Meanwhile, boards are increasingly confronting difficult questions about the role of artificial intelligence in leadership and decision-making. More than four in five directors (84%) say their boards have discussed which decisions should remain human-led versus AI-led, while (98%) say quantum computing is already being discussed at board level in some form, most commonly through a risk lens rather than as a strategic opportunity.

"Boards are being forced to confront a fundamental question: where should human judgement end, and where should AI begin? Yet many directors know their governance structures and decision-making processes are struggling to keep pace with the scale and speed of change," Begg added. "To succeed over the next decade, boards need to strengthen the quality of their thinking and modernise the way they process information, challenge assumptions, and make decisions."

Notes for Editors

Board Intelligence is EMEA's largest board technology and advisory firm. Trusted by more than 80,000 leaders across the Fortune 500, FTSE 100, and OMX 30, Board Intelligence supercharges boards with the science of board effectiveness. For more information, visit boardintelligence.com and follow on LinkedIn.

Board Intelligence's Board Value Index is based on independent research conducted among 405 board directors, CEOs, and CFOs across the UK, US, Nordics, and Middle East representing organisations with revenues above £50 million. It is the leading benchmark designed to measure board performance from the perspective of value creation, decision-making effectiveness, and future-readiness.

• The latest edition of the Board Value Index surveyed 405 respondents, including non-executive directors (also referred to as independent or outside directors), CEOs, and CFOs from organisations across the United Kingdom, United States, Nordics, and Middle East.
• Nordic respondents included individuals from organisations headquartered in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
• Middle East respondents included individuals from organisations headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman (GCC).