· Most boards now operate with eight to 12 directors and three to four committees, balancing effective oversight with agility amid growing regulatory and technological demands.
· Average director age continues to climb as boards favor experience and continuity; this trend strengthens institutional knowledge but may heighten long-term challenges around succession, refreshment, and leadership pipeline development.
· Women now hold about one-third of US board seats—a record high—although momentum has slowed as turnover declines and some boards downplay demographic characteristics.
· Board director demographic diversity reporting has contracted sharply, with racial and ethnic disclosure falling from 2024 peaks and complicating year-over-year benchmarking.
· Boards are diversifying beyond traditional CEO backgrounds and adding expertise in technology, cybersecurity, human capital, and sustainability as oversight broadens from financial stewardship to further encompass strategic and risk governance.
· Board turnover and election of new directors slowed in 2025, reflecting both a natural cyclical pause and companies’ tendency to favor stability in uncertain external conditions
· Board governance is evolving from rigid rules to flexible oversight: term limits remain rare, mandatory retirement ages are relaxing, and overboarding policies are standard but increasingly calibrated to balance capacity, experience, and accountability.