The board of directors is at the heart of corporate governance – and as the responsibilities associated with the board expand to cover topics like ESG and cybersecurity risk oversight, as well as destabilizing market conditions and changing regulatory requirements, so do investor expectations. While average support for...

With GenAI, effective board oversight has never been more important or mor challenging. Many companies are starting to move from piloting the technology to larger-scale rollouts while also trying to separate the hype from reality in a period featuring significant market uncertainty, an accelerating pace ...

The average total compensation for S&P 500 directors (excluding independent chairs’ fees) is $327,096, an increase of 1.8% from 2023 ($321,220). Stock accounts for 58% of director compensation, with cash accounting for 37% for the third year in a row. The average annual retainer for S&P 500 independent directors is $144,077, up only slightly from $143,106 in 2023. Over the past 20 years, director retainers have increased 5.4% on an annualized basis...

Board capability is critical when it comes to the geopolitical challenges organizations are facing. Many board members may not have experienced this before. Even in stable environments, effective boards should be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and seek opportunities to expand their knowledge...

The board landscape has always been in flux, and directors have always adjusted. In the same way that the push for independence, board diversity, and stronger financial oversight substantially reshaped today’s boardroom, ...

Corporate governance needs to keep pace as the pieces of the mosaic are constantly shifting, with directors addressing more topics and fielding input from more stakeholders. Regulators such as the SEC and EU are mandating increased board responsibility and corporate transparency...

Artificial intelligence (AI), the use of technology to execute or simulate processes that would otherwise require human intelligence, is quickly evolving. Companies have begun to use the rapidly expanding technology to help achieve efficiency, increase competitive advantages, and enhance engagement with stakeholders. Early adopters...

One of the nominating/governance committee’s primary roles has always been to identify and recruit a highly qualified group of people with the right mix of skills to serve on the board. It still is. But the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, California’s new climate...

Women hold less than one-quarter (23.3%) of the world’s board seats. Since 2022, the number of women on boards has only risen by 3.6% and the anticipated timeline for achieving parity has dropped by seven years. Just 8.4% of the world’s boards are chaired by women and 6% of CEOs are women. At the current pace, reaching global gender parity for board chairs and CEOs will not be reached before 2073 and 2111

Respondents, primarily corporate secretaries, in-house counsel, and other in-house governance professionals, represent 101 public companies of varying sizes and industries1 and the findings pertain to these companies. The actual number of responses for each question is provided. Some survey results may not sum...