PwC's "2025 Annual Corporate Directors Survey" (PwC’s key takeaways online here) of more than 600 public company directors across industries reveals how board practices are evolving in response to changes in the macro environment and societal pressures in the context of efforts to remain focused on core oversight responsibilities.
Noteworthy findings include:
Peer perceptions—Over half (55%) of directors believe at least one director on their board should be replaced (n=633; Q2a), most commonly because they don’t contribute meaningfully to discussions, but also because of long tenure-prompted reduced performance, among other reasons. (n=332; Q2b)
Asked to opine on why the board has not replaced such directors, respondents selected a variety of prepopulated answer choices, with the most prevalent (25%) being collegiality/personal relationships between board members; however, 26% determined that none of the answer choices reflected their views and selected “other.” (n=331; Q2c)
Board evaluation process—While most respondents (68%) believe their board has an effective assessment process, less than half believe their board is sufficiently invested in the process (49%) or that there is sufficient follow up after the assessment (47%). (n=580; Q4)
The most prevalent action items boards decided to take after their last assessment were adding expertise to the board (29%) and providing feedback to management about the format/content of materials (28%). (n=577; Q5)
AI—Artificial intelligence was identified by more than two-thirds (67%) of respondents as a topic their board should devote more time to over the next 12 months, followed by the political environment (56%) and digital transformation (46%). (n=582; Q6)
While a majority of respondents are at least somewhat satisfied with where most things stand on AI vis-à-vis their oversight capabilities and practices, there is significant room for improvement, and less than half say their board has implemented an approach (e.g., reporting frequency, committee allocation) to overseeing the opportunities and risks associated with the company’s use of AI and GenAI. (n=553-581; Q8)
Furthermore, only 35% of boards have integrated AI and GenAI into their board oversight. Of those that have, AI and GenAI are most commonly used to stay informed on emerging trends. (n=556; Q11)
Board effectiveness—Important particularly for corporate governance professionals who are commonly charged with the director education program, nearly half of respondents (45%) identified additional education or training on key topics as an action they could take to improve their board’s effectiveness, leading other response choices by a wide margin. (n=552; Q13)
The report includes PwC’s perspective on the survey results and suggested responsive board actions throughout.