April 3, 2025 • 18 mins
Artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionise boardrooms in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Still, this rapid change threatens to distance boards from the companies they serve if proper care is not taken in implementing both the technology and the governance around it.
In this podcast, Dr. Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards, discusses how AI can revolutionise boardrooms with Moya Hayhurst, a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute with over 25 years of experience in corporate governance across multiple industries, including mining, financial services, and insurance.
“If we go back to the beginning as to why boards were created, they're there to protect and drive the value of companies”
Boards have a significant role to play in that discussion, but to lead the debate about future-proofing effectively, boards need to absorb and process a vast amount of information.
“The real value from AI and similar is about integrating into the ethos of the company and the core infrastructure, and whether we like it or not, whether executive boards, executive committees and such acknowledge it, the board is a key component of that”
Moya is currently involved in a voluntary project with the Centre for AI in Board Effectiveness (CAIBE), which aims to get boards excited and engaged with AI as a tool for improving their effectiveness and the quality of their conversations. To Moya, in an ideal future state, board members and directors will be able to be more effective by having AI bring forward the data and information they need, when they need it, in easily digestible formats.
“Some boards are further along than others"
Moya realises this is a leap forward. It wasn't that long ago that boards were reticent to use board pack technology. They wanted their hard copies printed and couriered to wherever they were in the world, whereas now 90% of boards walk into a boardroom with an iPad. It’s an evolution in progress.
“Through an interface like AI, you can bring the board back in alignment with the company”
To Moya, what AI is surfacing is not that different skills are needed in the boardroom. The boardroom is already full of incredibly skilled people, but those people are struggling with the data coming at them, and thanks to the time it takes to prepare board papers, not all of that data is up to date. Backward-looking reporting is leading to missed opportunities.
“AI is a toddler. They are excited, energetic, and bring such amazing potential, but they've got to have guardrails so that they grow up in the right way”
Moya understands that boards have concerns about new technology tools and their security, as well as the protection of sensitive information. Fortunately, most organisations have a governance framework in place to strike a balance between responsibility and innovation. She thinks of AI as a toddler loaded with energy and potential but in desperate need of guidance and thoughtful training.
The three top takeaways for effective boards from our conversation are:
1. Lean on governance professionals and IT professionals to help you investigate the technology and offer better intelligence for quicker decisions.
2. Don’t be hamstrung by perceived risk. Think through it carefully, and then quantify and manage the risk so that you can empower and engage your directors to really be at the forefront of your industry.
3. You must have a clear plan that understands the risk and governance frameworks of your organisation and its sensitive data, and that ensures your guardr
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
Future-proofing the board with AI.
Welcome to the Better Boardspodcast series.
The podcast for chairs, CEOs,non-executive directors, company
secretaries, and their advisors.
Every episode is filled withpractical insights and learning
from those inside boardrooms.
We discuss what really mattersand highlight actionable steps
(00:23):
you can take to enhance theperformance of your board.
Join us on this episode as weexplore how AI can revolutionize
boardrooms in today'saccelerated business landscape,
where rapid change threatens todistance boards from the
companies they serve.
Discover how real-timeintelligence delivered via
(00:44):
natural language interfacestransforms raw data into
competitive, actionableinsights, ensuring decisions are
both timely and value-adding.
We'll delve into how the carefulimplementation of AI not only
mitigates risks, but alsopreserves vital corporate,
specialist, and industryknowledge, keeping boards
(01:05):
relevant and proactive.
Whether it's reignitingdirectors' passion or
transforming reactive oversightinto strategic leadership, this
conversation is your essentialguide to harnessing the full AI
advantage whilst future-proofingyour board.
I'm delighted to talk with MojaHayhurst.
Moja is a fellow of theChartered with over 25 years of
(01:30):
corporate governance experienceacross multiple industries,
including mining, financialservices and insurance.
She has a proven track record ofleveraging technology to ensure
governance function efficientlymeet the needs of the business.
Moja, thank you so, so much forcontributing to the Better Bots
podcast series.
(01:50):
Hi, Sabine.
Thank you so much
SPEAKER_01 (01:51):
for inviting me today.
SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
just so much going on around every board.
And of course, everyone wonderswhat can we do to future-proof?
So what do boards need to do tobe future-proofed?
SPEAKER_01 (02:04):
That is such a crucial question because as you
say, there is so much happeningaround the board and we often
have so many of the samequestions, the same requests
coming through.
But the reality is, you know, ifwe go back to the beginning as
to why boards were created isthey're there to protect and
drive the value of companies.
(02:26):
And looking at AI, one of thebiggest things that people say
is, will our jobs be theretomorrow?
And I'm not sure people haveactually considered the role of
the board in that question.
Now, everything that we seenowadays, things are just
speeding up driven by data.
SPEAKER_00 (02:45):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
You know, there's so much information and it's coming
at us so quickly from so manydifferent directions.
And one of the biggestchallenges we have is being able
to process it quickly enough.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (03:01):
I mean, even the challenge of reading these board
papers, you know, I mean, it'sjust, I have yet to do a board
evaluation, but I don't hear acomplaint about the lengths it
takes to read the board papers.
SPEAKER_01 (03:13):
Exactly, spot on.
And the challenge you also haveis a lot of the directors
actually hold more than onedirectorship.
So it's not just one board packof 500 pages or a board pack and
some committee papers.
They have numerous ones of this.
And not only that, they have gotto remember what's happening
with that specific company, thehistory, the strategy, the risks
(03:37):
they're facing.
That's an awful lot that we areexpecting from these amazing
people I mean, the knowledge andexperience that they have is
just incredible.
But to continue to unlock thatvalue.
SPEAKER_00 (03:50):
And that is exactly, we are so aligned, Moja.
That is exactly one of the keyquestions.
How can we really unlock thatexpertise, that knowledge to
really, really leverage this?
I mean, you are involved in avery interesting research
project.
Elaborate a little bit what,from your perspective, AI's role
(04:13):
can be in this.
SPEAKER_01 (04:15):
I am involved in a really interesting voluntary
project right now, and it's theCenter for AI in Board
Effectiveness.
So it's really looking to seehow AI can enhance, unlock,
almost encourage and engageagain where we've gotten lost in
the data.
You know, AI is something thatso many people are grappling
(04:38):
with and so many companies.
And it's been quite easy tosegment it into a constraint of
the different software platformsthat you find in companies and
curated within those elements.
But the real value from AI andsimilar is really about
(04:58):
integrating into the ethos ofthe company and the core
infrastructure.
And whether we like it or not,whether executive boards,
executive committees and suchacknowledge it, the board is
such a key component of that.
And it's really to link peopleback to the information,
allowing them to have itsurfaced for them at the right
(05:21):
time so that they can easily ondemand, ask questions, have the
information at their fingertipsto drive those conversations
forward, to bring that criticalthinking and that strategic
guidance that we expect from theboard.
I
SPEAKER_00 (05:39):
mean, it sounds like a brave new world.
How do we get there?
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
It is.
And I suppose...
Let me give you an example.
Sometimes that's easier tounderstand is, you know, as you
said, you know, we have theseincredible depth of data that
comes at our directors and ourexecutives that sit in the
boardroom amongst others,really.
Now, imagine you have, you cannaturally ask questions from a,
(06:04):
and this is very important, acurated knowledge pool of
information.
So really bringing thatinformation back to the
fingertips of of the people thatneeded at that moment in time.
So you are a board director.
AI has helped you and it setsyou, for example, there is the
(06:26):
key paper in this pack that wehave just scanned for you is an
approval for the relocation of acall center.
And the director thinks, hmm,that sounds vaguely familiar.
And he turns to his assistantand says, could you tell me when
last the board had this topic?
And let me know which of the keydiscussions points, you know,
(06:46):
anything from the minutes, anyactions.
Next up on your screen comes aquick overview.
Yes, this exact request hasactually been considered by this
board twice in the last fiveyears.
And here are the papers and therisks identified within the
those elements in the minutes aswell, all linked so he can
(07:09):
actually go and drill down.
And he thinks to himself, okay,that's interesting.
Now he recalls that in strategy,there was a customer element to
strategy.
So again, he turns to hisassistant and says, could you
tell me what elements of thecompany strategy that we've just
approved link into some of thebenefits that are set out in
(07:30):
this paper?
Back comes the answer, customersatisfaction.
And it goes further and says,The last update around customer
satisfaction was in the consumerduty update.
And again, brings back thatpaper and that information.
He thinks, oh, that'sinteresting.
Has a quick look through thepaper.
Notes that it was actually acomment around call volume that
(07:51):
was called on that paper.
Again, turns to his assistant.
Very, very trustworthy assistanthere.
And this assistant, can you tellme what the current call volume
is through that call center?
And also, are we still withinappetite on the time of those
calls?
Up comes this beautifuldashboard, you know, from a
(08:13):
piece of stuff, I thinkMicrosoft Power BI is often used
for these things, amongstothers.
And up comes this beautifuldashboard, and you can see the
call volumes are exponentiallyhigh at the moment.
However, they are all beinghandled within the current risk
appetite.
He goes, oh, this is great.
He carries on looking throughthe papers.
(08:33):
And he notes that one of thecomments that came up the last
time with the call center wasprobably about three years ago
per the paper, was actually thecall resolution was where the
time was being taken.
Turns back to his trusteeassistant and says, can you show
me the call resolution?
Oh, my goodness.
And the charts just go red infront of him.
(08:55):
So he can now see that this isactually a problem.
He asked some more questions,but he's now hit the depth to
which he can ask the questions.
He can't go any further.
But now he's already moved italong.
Gets into the boardroom, startsgoing down the same track.
The presenter pulls up thelatest stats.
It shows a Core volume hasdropped down now.
(09:16):
Things are looking amazing.
But if they relocate this corecenter, they are going to unlock
this cost saving of however muchit is.
SPEAKER_00 (09:26):
I understand, Moya.
I understand.
Sounds amazing.
What needs to happen for us toget there?
Because I have yet to see boardpacks or a board who has fully
embraced this technology.
You know, some boards arefurther
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
along than others.
Absolutely.
I mean, bearing in mind, itwasn't that long ago that boards
were reticent to use board papertechnology, board pack
technology.
They wanted their hard copiesprinted and couriered to
wherever they were in the world.
Whereas now, 90% of theboards...
(10:05):
walk into a boardroom with aniPad.
So this is part of thatevolution.
And the boards have seen thevalue of having electronic board
papers.
If you provide an interface likeAI over the top of them,
allowing them to actually askstraight questions based on
(10:25):
simple curated database of maybejust the past board papers, you
are already driving thoseconversations forward
SPEAKER_00 (10:33):
in the boardroom.
How do we ensure that there is aright balance between innovation
and tradition, really?
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
Innovation and tradition can actually sit
comfortably side by side.
However, in my experience,innovation is often only, the
potential on innovation is oftenonly realized when it's guided
by knowledgeable people.
And in our organizations, wehave incredibly knowledgeable
people, but it's really thinkingthrough how you unlock that.
(11:04):
Now, how can AI cut through thedata and how can you ensure that
people the people that need,that have the knowledge, that
can actually draw into that,really can use it to unlock
that.
So even the example I just gaveyou, tradition was a piece of
paper, a board pack that wasprinted in front of you.
(11:25):
Innovation was putting it into aportal that allowed directors to
put sticky notes on it, haveconversations with other
directors or with the executiveand get some questions answered
before the meeting.
And now it sits very comfortablyin the boardroom.
And this is just the next stepof that innovation.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
So what does it mean really for these skills we need
in the boardroom?
Do we need different skills?
Do chairs that are nowrecruiting new non-executive
directors need to look for adifferent profile of people?
I don't think it's a differentskill set.
SPEAKER_01 (12:02):
I really think it's more a refocus almost on what
are the skills that the boardneeds, that needs to be on the
board for where the company isgoing.
So unfortunately, regulation isamazing and regulatory
requirements have driven some ofthe skill sets we see in the
boardroom.
And the reason why I said, youknow, AI could, or this kind of
(12:24):
implementation, this surfacingof knowledge or the integration
of knowledge and people justusing ai as their natural
interface you know it can reallyhelp us to get back to where the
value is in the room isunlocking that incredible
knowledge resource we have andreally focusing it on the
strategic and critical thinkingthat we need to drive the
(12:45):
organization forward and alsosomething simple is being more
aware of risks that are inindustry and coming in the
market because Data is the newgold, but it's the intelligence
and it's how quickly companiescan draw through that data and
identify the threats and thetrends and the opportunities and
(13:08):
pivot.
And I'm not sure how else otherthan through an interface like
AI, you can bring the board backin alignment with the company as
well.
to really, to get them on thesame page, to get them really
grounded in the day-to-dayrealities of what the executive
are facing and not get locked indata and information that is
(13:29):
possibly weeks or months old.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
Absolutely.
And that's mostly, I mean, mostof the papers are backward
looking rather than presentingdata that you can easily pull
forward.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:41):
Exactly.
I mean, one of the biggestarguments you get is, oh, the
board papers are too long.
Well, If you just need to give aframe of what the item is about
and where the information is,suddenly the paper goes from 50
pages to maybe five.
If you can give people access tothe live information that you've
carefully curated behind it,then it becomes more a natural
(14:04):
day-to-day navigation almost,rather than, as you said, what
we currently have is thisbackward-looking, I mean, it is
strategic because it does lookat things very carefully and
takes the current market viewinto account and intelligence by
the presenters in the room.
But sometimes where we lose timeis where a question can't be
(14:27):
answered in the room.
And you've got to wait anotherquarter before you get the
follow-up paper that answersthat question, by which time you
might have missed thatopportunity completely.
SPEAKER_00 (14:38):
I mean, a lot of people are always concerned when
it comes to new technology aboutthe risks, about security, about
the safety of sensitiveinformation.
How can this be dealt with,really?
SPEAKER_01 (14:51):
Honestly, carefully, thoughtfully, because you've got
to balance the innovationresponsibly with what we know
about each organization isdifferent.
So you can't just use one brushfor everybody.
But most big organizations oreven organizations that will
actively consider this will havea governance framework.
(15:15):
And the challenge is and theopportunity is actually making
sure that you've thought thisthrough alongside those pieces
and clip them together.
So you have a really, you know,you have the guide rails that an
amazing opportunity like AI canactually work within.
Now, AI is a toddler.
(15:35):
They are excited, energetic andbring such amazing potential.
but they've got to have thoseguardrails so that they grow up
in the right way.
And that is the job of, youknow, the cyber security guys
and the policies we have and theframeworks.
And let's not forget, dataintegrity is so important.
(16:00):
If the data that you're relyingon is not robust, you're not
going to have a great outcome.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
Absolutely.
We could talk for hours, but wesadly can't.
But for our listeners, when youbring out your white paper based
on the research you currentlydo, you will come back or one of
your colleagues will come back.
So there's always a tricky lastquestion at the end of our
podcast, which is what are thethree things our listeners
(16:30):
should take away from thispodcast?
SPEAKER_01 (16:32):
Three is always a challenge, but I'm going to try
and distill it into those foryou.
I would say trust theprofessionals you have in your
teams.
So governance professionals,technology professionals, let
them investigate the technologythat will help you.
Allowing better intelligence forquicker decisions, that's number
(16:53):
one.
Number two is trust.
Don't be hamstrung by perceivedrisk.
You know, that knee-jerk fearreaction.
Think through it carefully.
Quantify and manage the risk sothat you can empower and engage
your directors and your companyto really be at the forefront of
(17:16):
your industry.
That's number two.
Number three is you have got tohave a plan.
You've got to have a clear planthat understands the risk and
governance framework of yourorganization, your sensitive
data, and ensure that yourguardrails are in place so that
you can leverage all of thepotential, unlock the excitement
(17:40):
and the opportunities again, butin a very thoughtful,
risk-averse, ethical, andresponsible way.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Moja, fantastic.
Thank you so, so much forcontributing to the Better
Boards podcast series.
Thank you again for having me.
This podcast episode is part ofthe Better Boards podcast series
brought to you by Better Boards,the provider of board evaluation
solutions.
Get in touch if you would liketo hear more about our work with
(18:09):
boards, or if you would like tosee a demo of our innovative
board evaluation platform, or ifyou would like to have a chat
about a topic you would like tosee covered on this podcast
series.
We at Better Boards are alwaysdelighted to hear from you.
You can best reach us at info atbetter-boards.com.
Thank you for listening.
Future-proofing the board with AI.
Welcome to the Better Boardspodcast series.
The podcast for chairs, CEOs,non-executive directors, company
secretaries, and their advisors.
Every episode is filled withpractical insights and learning
from those inside boardrooms.
We discuss what really mattersand highlight actionable steps
(00:23):
you can take to enhance theperformance of your board.
Join us on this episode as weexplore how AI can revolutionize
boardrooms in today'saccelerated business landscape,
where rapid change threatens todistance boards from the
companies they serve.
Discover how real-timeintelligence delivered via
(00:44):
natural language interfacestransforms raw data into
competitive, actionableinsights, ensuring decisions are
both timely and value-adding.
We'll delve into how the carefulimplementation of AI not only
mitigates risks, but alsopreserves vital corporate,
specialist, and industryknowledge, keeping boards
(01:05):
relevant and proactive.
Whether it's reignitingdirectors' passion or
transforming reactive oversightinto strategic leadership, this
conversation is your essentialguide to harnessing the full AI
advantage whilst future-proofingyour board.
I'm delighted to talk with MojaHayhurst.
Moja is a fellow of theChartered with over 25 years of
(01:30):
corporate governance experienceacross multiple industries,
including mining, financialservices and insurance.
She has a proven track record ofleveraging technology to ensure
governance function efficientlymeet the needs of the business.
Moja, thank you so, so much forcontributing to the Better Bots
podcast series.
(01:50):
Hi, Sabine.
Thank you so much
SPEAKER_01 (01:51):
for inviting me today.
SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
just so much going on around every board.
And of course, everyone wonderswhat can we do to future-proof?
So what do boards need to do tobe future-proofed?
SPEAKER_01 (02:04):
That is such a crucial question because as you
say, there is so much happeningaround the board and we often
have so many of the samequestions, the same requests
coming through.
But the reality is, you know, ifwe go back to the beginning as
to why boards were created isthey're there to protect and
drive the value of companies.
(02:26):
And looking at AI, one of thebiggest things that people say
is, will our jobs be theretomorrow?
And I'm not sure people haveactually considered the role of
the board in that question.
Now, everything that we seenowadays, things are just
speeding up driven by data.
SPEAKER_00 (02:45):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
You know, there's so much information and it's coming
at us so quickly from so manydifferent directions.
And one of the biggestchallenges we have is being able
to process it quickly enough.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (03:01):
I mean, even the challenge of reading these board
papers, you know, I mean, it'sjust, I have yet to do a board
evaluation, but I don't hear acomplaint about the lengths it
takes to read the board papers.
SPEAKER_01 (03:13):
Exactly, spot on.
And the challenge you also haveis a lot of the directors
actually hold more than onedirectorship.
So it's not just one board packof 500 pages or a board pack and
some committee papers.
They have numerous ones of this.
And not only that, they have gotto remember what's happening
with that specific company, thehistory, the strategy, the risks
(03:37):
they're facing.
That's an awful lot that we areexpecting from these amazing
people I mean, the knowledge andexperience that they have is
just incredible.
But to continue to unlock thatvalue.
SPEAKER_00 (03:50):
And that is exactly, we are so aligned, Moja.
That is exactly one of the keyquestions.
How can we really unlock thatexpertise, that knowledge to
really, really leverage this?
I mean, you are involved in avery interesting research
project.
Elaborate a little bit what,from your perspective, AI's role
(04:13):
can be in this.
SPEAKER_01 (04:15):
I am involved in a really interesting voluntary
project right now, and it's theCenter for AI in Board
Effectiveness.
So it's really looking to seehow AI can enhance, unlock,
almost encourage and engageagain where we've gotten lost in
the data.
You know, AI is something thatso many people are grappling
(04:38):
with and so many companies.
And it's been quite easy tosegment it into a constraint of
the different software platformsthat you find in companies and
curated within those elements.
But the real value from AI andsimilar is really about
(04:58):
integrating into the ethos ofthe company and the core
infrastructure.
And whether we like it or not,whether executive boards,
executive committees and suchacknowledge it, the board is
such a key component of that.
And it's really to link peopleback to the information,
allowing them to have itsurfaced for them at the right
(05:21):
time so that they can easily ondemand, ask questions, have the
information at their fingertipsto drive those conversations
forward, to bring that criticalthinking and that strategic
guidance that we expect from theboard.
I
SPEAKER_00 (05:39):
mean, it sounds like a brave new world.
How do we get there?
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
It is.
And I suppose...
Let me give you an example.
Sometimes that's easier tounderstand is, you know, as you
said, you know, we have theseincredible depth of data that
comes at our directors and ourexecutives that sit in the
boardroom amongst others,really.
Now, imagine you have, you cannaturally ask questions from a,
(06:04):
and this is very important, acurated knowledge pool of
information.
So really bringing thatinformation back to the
fingertips of of the people thatneeded at that moment in time.
So you are a board director.
AI has helped you and it setsyou, for example, there is the
(06:26):
key paper in this pack that wehave just scanned for you is an
approval for the relocation of acall center.
And the director thinks, hmm,that sounds vaguely familiar.
And he turns to his assistantand says, could you tell me when
last the board had this topic?
And let me know which of the keydiscussions points, you know,
(06:46):
anything from the minutes, anyactions.
Next up on your screen comes aquick overview.
Yes, this exact request hasactually been considered by this
board twice in the last fiveyears.
And here are the papers and therisks identified within the
those elements in the minutes aswell, all linked so he can
(07:09):
actually go and drill down.
And he thinks to himself, okay,that's interesting.
Now he recalls that in strategy,there was a customer element to
strategy.
So again, he turns to hisassistant and says, could you
tell me what elements of thecompany strategy that we've just
approved link into some of thebenefits that are set out in
(07:30):
this paper?
Back comes the answer, customersatisfaction.
And it goes further and says,The last update around customer
satisfaction was in the consumerduty update.
And again, brings back thatpaper and that information.
He thinks, oh, that'sinteresting.
Has a quick look through thepaper.
Notes that it was actually acomment around call volume that
(07:51):
was called on that paper.
Again, turns to his assistant.
Very, very trustworthy assistanthere.
And this assistant, can you tellme what the current call volume
is through that call center?
And also, are we still withinappetite on the time of those
calls?
Up comes this beautifuldashboard, you know, from a
(08:13):
piece of stuff, I thinkMicrosoft Power BI is often used
for these things, amongstothers.
And up comes this beautifuldashboard, and you can see the
call volumes are exponentiallyhigh at the moment.
However, they are all beinghandled within the current risk
appetite.
He goes, oh, this is great.
He carries on looking throughthe papers.
(08:33):
And he notes that one of thecomments that came up the last
time with the call center wasprobably about three years ago
per the paper, was actually thecall resolution was where the
time was being taken.
Turns back to his trusteeassistant and says, can you show
me the call resolution?
Oh, my goodness.
And the charts just go red infront of him.
(08:55):
So he can now see that this isactually a problem.
He asked some more questions,but he's now hit the depth to
which he can ask the questions.
He can't go any further.
But now he's already moved italong.
Gets into the boardroom, startsgoing down the same track.
The presenter pulls up thelatest stats.
It shows a Core volume hasdropped down now.
(09:16):
Things are looking amazing.
But if they relocate this corecenter, they are going to unlock
this cost saving of however muchit is.
SPEAKER_00 (09:26):
I understand, Moya.
I understand.
Sounds amazing.
What needs to happen for us toget there?
Because I have yet to see boardpacks or a board who has fully
embraced this technology.
You know, some boards arefurther
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
along than others.
Absolutely.
I mean, bearing in mind, itwasn't that long ago that boards
were reticent to use board papertechnology, board pack
technology.
They wanted their hard copiesprinted and couriered to
wherever they were in the world.
Whereas now, 90% of theboards...
(10:05):
walk into a boardroom with aniPad.
So this is part of thatevolution.
And the boards have seen thevalue of having electronic board
papers.
If you provide an interface likeAI over the top of them,
allowing them to actually askstraight questions based on
(10:25):
simple curated database of maybejust the past board papers, you
are already driving thoseconversations forward
SPEAKER_00 (10:33):
in the boardroom.
How do we ensure that there is aright balance between innovation
and tradition, really?
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
Innovation and tradition can actually sit
comfortably side by side.
However, in my experience,innovation is often only, the
potential on innovation is oftenonly realized when it's guided
by knowledgeable people.
And in our organizations, wehave incredibly knowledgeable
people, but it's really thinkingthrough how you unlock that.
(11:04):
Now, how can AI cut through thedata and how can you ensure that
people the people that need,that have the knowledge, that
can actually draw into that,really can use it to unlock
that.
So even the example I just gaveyou, tradition was a piece of
paper, a board pack that wasprinted in front of you.
(11:25):
Innovation was putting it into aportal that allowed directors to
put sticky notes on it, haveconversations with other
directors or with the executiveand get some questions answered
before the meeting.
And now it sits very comfortablyin the boardroom.
And this is just the next stepof that innovation.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
So what does it mean really for these skills we need
in the boardroom?
Do we need different skills?
Do chairs that are nowrecruiting new non-executive
directors need to look for adifferent profile of people?
I don't think it's a differentskill set.
SPEAKER_01 (12:02):
I really think it's more a refocus almost on what
are the skills that the boardneeds, that needs to be on the
board for where the company isgoing.
So unfortunately, regulation isamazing and regulatory
requirements have driven some ofthe skill sets we see in the
boardroom.
And the reason why I said, youknow, AI could, or this kind of
(12:24):
implementation, this surfacingof knowledge or the integration
of knowledge and people justusing ai as their natural
interface you know it can reallyhelp us to get back to where the
value is in the room isunlocking that incredible
knowledge resource we have andreally focusing it on the
strategic and critical thinkingthat we need to drive the
(12:45):
organization forward and alsosomething simple is being more
aware of risks that are inindustry and coming in the
market because Data is the newgold, but it's the intelligence
and it's how quickly companiescan draw through that data and
identify the threats and thetrends and the opportunities and
(13:08):
pivot.
And I'm not sure how else otherthan through an interface like
AI, you can bring the board backin alignment with the company as
well.
to really, to get them on thesame page, to get them really
grounded in the day-to-dayrealities of what the executive
are facing and not get locked indata and information that is
(13:29):
possibly weeks or months old.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
Absolutely.
And that's mostly, I mean, mostof the papers are backward
looking rather than presentingdata that you can easily pull
forward.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:41):
Exactly.
I mean, one of the biggestarguments you get is, oh, the
board papers are too long.
Well, If you just need to give aframe of what the item is about
and where the information is,suddenly the paper goes from 50
pages to maybe five.
If you can give people access tothe live information that you've
carefully curated behind it,then it becomes more a natural
(14:04):
day-to-day navigation almost,rather than, as you said, what
we currently have is thisbackward-looking, I mean, it is
strategic because it does lookat things very carefully and
takes the current market viewinto account and intelligence by
the presenters in the room.
But sometimes where we lose timeis where a question can't be
(14:27):
answered in the room.
And you've got to wait anotherquarter before you get the
follow-up paper that answersthat question, by which time you
might have missed thatopportunity completely.
SPEAKER_00 (14:38):
I mean, a lot of people are always concerned when
it comes to new technology aboutthe risks, about security, about
the safety of sensitiveinformation.
How can this be dealt with,really?
SPEAKER_01 (14:51):
Honestly, carefully, thoughtfully, because you've got
to balance the innovationresponsibly with what we know
about each organization isdifferent.
So you can't just use one brushfor everybody.
But most big organizations oreven organizations that will
actively consider this will havea governance framework.
(15:15):
And the challenge is and theopportunity is actually making
sure that you've thought thisthrough alongside those pieces
and clip them together.
So you have a really, you know,you have the guide rails that an
amazing opportunity like AI canactually work within.
Now, AI is a toddler.
(15:35):
They are excited, energetic andbring such amazing potential.
but they've got to have thoseguardrails so that they grow up
in the right way.
And that is the job of, youknow, the cyber security guys
and the policies we have and theframeworks.
And let's not forget, dataintegrity is so important.
(16:00):
If the data that you're relyingon is not robust, you're not
going to have a great outcome.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
Absolutely.
We could talk for hours, but wesadly can't.
But for our listeners, when youbring out your white paper based
on the research you currentlydo, you will come back or one of
your colleagues will come back.
So there's always a tricky lastquestion at the end of our
podcast, which is what are thethree things our listeners
(16:30):
should take away from thispodcast?
SPEAKER_01 (16:32):
Three is always a challenge, but I'm going to try
and distill it into those foryou.
I would say trust theprofessionals you have in your
teams.
So governance professionals,technology professionals, let
them investigate the technologythat will help you.
Allowing better intelligence forquicker decisions, that's number
(16:53):
one.
Number two is trust.
Don't be hamstrung by perceivedrisk.
You know, that knee-jerk fearreaction.
Think through it carefully.
Quantify and manage the risk sothat you can empower and engage
your directors and your companyto really be at the forefront of
(17:16):
your industry.
That's number two.
Number three is you have got tohave a plan.
You've got to have a clear planthat understands the risk and
governance framework of yourorganization, your sensitive
data, and ensure that yourguardrails are in place so that
you can leverage all of thepotential, unlock the excitement
(17:40):
and the opportunities again, butin a very thoughtful,
risk-averse, ethical, andresponsible way.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Moja, fantastic.
Thank you so, so much forcontributing to the Better
Boards podcast series.
Thank you again for having me.
This podcast episode is part ofthe Better Boards podcast series
brought to you by Better Boards,the provider of board evaluation
solutions.
Get in touch if you would liketo hear more about our work with
(18:09):
boards, or if you would like tosee a demo of our innovative
board evaluation platform, or ifyou would like to have a chat
about a topic you would like tosee covered on this podcast
series.
We at Better Boards are alwaysdelighted to hear from you.
You can best reach us at info atbetter-boards.com.
Thank you for listening.
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