Guest post by Paula Loop, Leader of PwC’s Governance Insights Center
New technologies from artificial intelligence and drones to 3-D printing, predictive analytics, and driverless cars are disrupting how companies compete and create value. US CEOs believe investing in technology is the most direct path to meaningful innovation and operational efficiency, but these new technologies are generating risks that Boards are scrambling to contain.
The average age of a director at a public company is 63 years old. The majority of public company directors aren’t sitting executives who work through technological advancements in their day jobs. Given the pace of technological change, how can boards really be on top of their game?
Directors recognize their dilemma. Nearly one-third of directors polled in our 2015 Annual Corporate Directors Survey say their board isn’t sufficiently or at all engaged in overseeing/understanding the company’s annual IT budget. Similarly, 33% say the company’s approach to IT strategy and risk mitigation doesn’t anticipate potential advantages from emerging technologies.
What’s the solution? Should we swap all sitting directors with millennials and the technologically savvy? Or should we push companies to prioritize IT awareness and devote elements of board meetings to IT education? The answer lies somewhere in between.
More of the CIO Dashboard article from Chris Curran
