I joined Michael Hardy on Boardman’s BoardTalks podcast, with commentary from Boardman CEO Taru Lindeman, to talk about where board work is heading.
Advisory boards earn their place at both extremes
The value of an advisory board shows up at two ends of the spectrum: the long-term questions about purpose, growth ambition and exit strategy, and the very hands-on ones, like sales channels, product launches and customer acquisition. A good advisory board moves comfortably between both. For executives coming from large corporations, sitting on one is also an education: entrepreneurial companies move faster, stay closer to the customer, and experiment more than most established businesses do. That’s worth bringing back with you.
AI belongs in the boardroom, not just the org chart
AI is no longer a management-level topic alone. I see boards increasingly relying on it as a kind of advisor: something that can process data, competitor signals and market information at a scale no board member can match, without ego or bias getting in the way. That doesn’t mean it replaces judgment. Reliability and hallucination issues mean a human still has to validate and contextualize what AI produces. The real board-level question isn’t whether to use AI. It’s how to use it responsibly to sharpen decisions.
Global ambition needs a global board
Not every company needs international board members. Any company that wants to grow beyond its home market almost certainly does. Understanding customers, competitors and cultural context in unfamiliar markets is what lets a board actually challenge management instead of just nodding along. International board members bring networks and perspective that close strategic blind spots, and the discomfort of working across languages and cultures is a small price for that.