Boardroom INSIDER for… FEBRUARY

IS A BOARDROOM TALENT GAP COMING?

For decades, the business world has seen dire warnings that the liability, work and time demands facing corporate board members will drive the best prospects to pass on boardroom roles.  But in the February issue of online monthly Boardroom INSIDER, publisher and governance speaker Ralph Ward warns that a convergence of new factors may make this boardroom talent gap a reality.

In this month’s lead article, Ward writes that a true boardroom exodus from top companies is underway. Numbers from Korn-Ferry research found four times as many S&P 500 directors stepped down in 2025 as in 2024. But other, less noted drivers could also bring a future talent shortage.  While changes in U.S. proxy voting rules are tamping down some activism on social issues, Ward notes this “has encouraged more Vote No campaigns on board elections.” 

The past decade’s DEI push to add younger, more diverse members to boards is waning, just as management cutbacks, driven by restructuring and AI tools “are hollowing out rising talents who are the next boardroom generation.”  Job insecurity and higher workloads for those who remain make them less likely to endanger their “day jobs” by pursuing board roles.  “If the next generation lacks the needed presence, board skills and numbers, do we face a coming boardroom talent gap?”

Also in the February issue of Boardroom INSIDER …

4 tips for better board/CISO dialogue
Your board pre-meeting prep plan
Q&A: Our CEO’s social media blowup – what does the board do?

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Ralph Ward’s new book…

Hacking the Boardroom (Taylor & Francis) is the lifesaver every director needs today.  This is the intelligence that boards must have to do a better oversight job, in less time, with less effort, and fewer legal dangers.  Proven “how to” insights from front-line board members, CEOs, corporate staffers, top consultants and legal advisors.  Corporations, nonprofits, government enterprises… any organization where directors are battling 21^st Century governance realities will learn from the hacks in this “owner’s manual for the boardroom.”

Visit the Hacking the Boardroom site today!

NEW – the audio version of Hacking the Boardroom now on Audible!

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…is an internationally-recognized writer and commentator on the role of boards of directors, the secrets of how benchmark boards excel, gaining a board seat, and the future of governance worldwide.

Ward is the publisher of the online email newsletter Boardroom INSIDER, the worldwide source for practical, first-hand advice on better boards and directors ( www.boardroominsider.com).

He is author of the books Hacking the Boardroom (2025), Board Seeker: Your Guidebook and Career Map into the Corporate Boardroom (2018), Boardroom Q&A (2011), The New Boardroom Leaders (2008), Saving the Corporate Board (2003), Improving Corporate Boards: The Boardroom INSIDER Guidebook (2000), and 21st Century Corporate Board (1997).

Ward is a certified trainer, and speaks internationally on board and governance topics, and presents a “Boardroom Masterclass” seminar worldwide, with recent programs in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.  His media appearances including CNNfn, C-SPAN, Voice of America, Bloomberg Money Show, National Public Radio, Marketplace, and CNBC (U.S. and U.K.).

Ward has also edited The Corporate Board magazine, the international journal of corporate governance, since 1990. He writes and comments on boardroom matters for a number of other publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Across the Board, Crains, Vital Speeches, the Detroit Free Press, Barrons and INC.com., and serves on several advisory and non-profit boards.