Board Talk​

“Given the extent of uncertainty about the possible impact of using artificial intelligence, it is unsurprising – and actually, it is right – that Boards focus on efficiency and internal processes within their company and hold operational bodies to account for the measures taken in these areas. It is important that efficiency is not considered in isolation but is always seen as part of creating customer value and ensuring long-term competitiveness.”

“Sustainability is really not about doing good social and environmental things here and there.”

“My advice is not to blur the boundaries between Board responsibilities and those of management. The President of the Board has a key role to play in setting the tone from the top. It is crucial that the company is not blown off its strategic course by operational disagreements.”

“Companies that approach resilience at separate levels often overlook the interplay between different levels – and that can have serious consequences. I’ve seen how attempts to tackle a crisis simply by cutting costs and reducing budgets have actually exacerbated the problem: they unsettled the staff, who felt uncertain and unvalued, and that just made the situation more volatile and created a difficult working environment."

“The Board needs to bring together experienced individuals with complementary skills who can keep a cool head and remain objective in a complex market environment. And sometimes, that means striking a difficult balance between challenge and empathy.”

“The Board needs regular debriefing from the operational level. I believe that a strict demarcation between the operational level and strategic leadership is very often the wrong approach. We need to ensure new knowledge and lessons learned are shared between these levels, but it is also important to pass on experience of new and unexpected challenges and events.”

“Making employment models more flexible is an important part of tackling demographic change and enables companies to boost employee satisfaction and productivity, with a positive impact on staff retention. But such measures in isolation are not enough.”

“Ignoring demographic change is like being in a boat and ignoring the fact that the water level is rising with the tide. Proactive Boards will always be one step ahead of the competition. It’s vital that investments are considered strategically rather than focussing solely on cutting costs at any price.“

“The most important human skills we need, to make the most of generative AI, are curiosity, imagination and the ability to ask good, thoughtful questions. The tech itself is very easy to use, and does the leg work for you. Board members have great expertise in asking good questions and can see round the corner, giving them a natural advantage to make the most of generative AI.“

“AI is transforming jobs and sectors across the economy, so Boards need to define a clear strategy for integrating it at all levels within the company. The Board needs to be able to identify the opportunities offered by AI that align with the company’s corporate goals. And because generative AI is a real game-changer, they need to adapt their company’s corporate strategy to the new reality.“

“It is important that the Board does not equate generative AI with AI more generally or with IT but recognises it as a crucial part of the puzzle in terms of digital transformation. The focus should not be on a specific technology but rather on establishing how a company can better meet the needs of its market. The fact that we have the ability to do something using generative AI does not mean that it is sensible to do so or that it is a good investment for the company.”

“Success starts with having sustainability as a regular item on the agenda for Board meetings. If the Board sets realistic and ambitious goals and gives management a clear mandate to implement them, it is well on the way to succeeding. I think it is better to focus on just a few goals and to make genuine and substantial progress in those areas.”

“It is strategically important for the Board to have both experience and expertise in the area of sustainability. Board members need the right level of expertise to be able to challenge management on sustainability strategy and goals and to monitor achievement of those goals.”

“AI is just like any other specialist area within the company: not every Board member has to be a specialist in the digital area, any more than they require specialist expertise in finance, risk management or human resources. But giving Board members basic knowledge and empowering them, coupled with some specialist input, is the best recipe for long-term success in tackling the challenges posed by AI.”

“It’s important that managing cyber risk or digital risk isn’t seen as just an IT problem but is recognised as a company-wide issue to be tackled as part of the company’s corporate strategy. Major strategic decisions almost always have an impact on the company’s cyber footprint.”

“All companies are at risk, regardless of size and sector. However, many SMEs lack the financial and human resources to take effective cyber security measures, so their expertise and infrastructure is limited or even non-existent.”

“We’ve been living with ‘cyber’ for at least 40 years, yet for many Boards, it is uncharted territory compared to other operational risks. What I find, though, is that the fear factor and taboo tend to die away if the problems are discussed in a safe space with like-minded people at Board and/or management level.”

"Throughout our footprint, guests enjoy luxury hospitality, while experiencing living the Mantis mantra: Man and Nature Together Is Sustainable."

“I believe the Board’s long-term objective is to create value for the shareholders. If this objective is properly understood, it should encompass all stakeholders and all other major long-term dimensions.”

“Interestingly, companies are sometimes punished by shareholder representatives or the media for voluntarily being more transparent about remuneration issues than is required by law or for being more transparent than peer companies. Companies therefore need to find the right level of transparency.”

“Sustainable is the New Profitable. PURPOSE is the new Product. The Future is not something that just happens to us – it’s something we CREATE.”

“The speed, unpredictability and far-reaching consequences of geopolitical developments are not going to decrease in the coming years, so Boards will need to take both tactical and strategically far-reaching decisions.”

“As a company’s strategic leadership body, the Board of Directors is responsible for actively tracking geopolitical trends, identifying the opportunities and risks these represent for the company and the sector, and drawing conclusions for how the company should respond.”

“Facing the new situation and its implications, there are two distinct approaches that the Swiss economy could adopt: either focus on safe and geopolitically close economic partners such as the EU (which is already its most important economic partner) or increase the number and origin of partners. Diversification is a critical asset when it comes to limiting the impact of any shock.”

“The board shapes the company’s culture, so it needs to create conditions in which employees understand what the company stands for. All employees should feel appreciated, so there needs to be scope for ideas to be fed in from the bottom up and to be heard.”

“Strategy and innovation must be regularly on the agenda, at least at the time of the board’s retreat. But in fact, it is a matter of a constant daily attitude, of corporate culture!”

“Innovation management is a role for senior management. The board should maintain a broad focus on innovation as part of strategy development, raise fundamental issues and identify ‘black holes’ in the strategy presented to it.”