What skills might boards need as tectonic shifts reshape the business landscape?

As businesses face continued uncertainty and complexity, the working relationship between many C-suites and boards is growing stronger.¹ And just as many organizations tailor C-suite roles and responsibilities to meet their needs,² boards could consider doing the same: Does their mix of capabilities match the moment and the organizations’ business priorities ahead?

New analysis from the Deloitte Center for Integrated Research,³ in collaboration with Deloitte’s Center for Board Effectiveness and Chief Executive Officer Program, suggests that some boards might have an opportunity to take a more tailored approach to composition and capabilities, better aligning directors’ skills and experiences with the organizations’ evolving governance needs. Based on Deloitte’s analysis of BoardEx data to aggregate the six most recent roles held by Fortune 100 directors between 1998 and 2024, every Fortune 100 organization’s board includes at least one director with experience serving as a chief executive. Directors with finance and operations leadership experience are nearly as common.

Yet, despite the increasingly critical role of capabilities like technology, research, and analytics in organizations’ leadership ranks overall, just 38 of Fortune 100 organizations’ boards include directors with technology leadership backgrounds, and only 28 include current or former data and analytics leaders, according to the analysis.

“Having broader functional experience in the boardroom could help enterprises adapt more effectively to shifting market conditions,” the authors say. “Intentionally aligning directors’ career histories, skills, and qualifications with the company’s evolving strategy may, in turn, support more effective stewardship of long-term value creation.”

Read the analysis.