EDITORIAL: WHAT EVERY BOARD NEEDS TO ASK ABOUT AI

Non-executive directors are operating in an environment that’s more complex and volatile than ever. Global megatrends like digital disruption, AI, climate risk, and supply chain instability are reshaping the business landscape and having a huge impact on the knowledge that non-execs need to be aware of and keep themselves up to date on.

But non-execs cannot be experts in everything, nor should they be, so how do they make sure they have sufficient and relevant knowledge to enable them to undertake their oversight function effectively, and to be confident that they are aware of the risks and opportunities facing the organisation?

With this in mind, our last members’ NED Conversations event, run in association with global recruiter Norman Broadbent, focussed on one area – AI – and what board directors really need to know.

A very distinguished panel of non-executives brought their own experiences from real life for a fascinating discussion. The session was Chaired by Richard Edmondson – Partner, Digital & Technology, Norman Broadbent and the panellists were:

• Sanjeevan Bala – FTSE NED, Executive AI & Data advisor and former Group Chief Data & AI Officer at ITV

• Susan Hooper – Non-Executive Director at Moonpig and Uber, Co-Founder of Chapter Zero

• Shefaly Yogendra – Experienced NED across listed, private and non-profit boards

In addition to the panel session itself, our audience contributed with some fascinating and thought-provoking questions.

One thing that emerged very clearly from the event is that AI is not a technology issue, it is a business issue. Decisions should be focussed on business outcomes, not technical novelty. As Susan put it, warning against tech-driven panic, “There’s a fear of falling behind. But AI isn’t always the right solution. Focus on solving the business issue first.”

As mentioned in the beginning, non-execs don’t need to be AI experts, but they do need to ask smart, strategic questions, literacy, and not fluency, is the goal: Shefaly noted, “You don’t need to know how to build the engine, but you do need to understand where it’s taking the business.”

And finally, to quote Sanjeevan, “Anchor everything in business outcomes. That’s how you keep AI aligned to strategy.”

A full summary of the event can be found here and the recording can be found here.

For those who do want to know more about the topic, we are running an in-depth one-day course looking in more detail about what non-executive directors need to know about AI on Monday 6th October. For more information please click here.