The tech-forward boardroom: Fostering richer boardroom conversations on technology

“Boardroom conversations today have more focus on cybersecurity, which is good, but there are still a lot of challenges discussing the broader technology road map,” says Laura Miller, CIO of Macy’s and a board member at Ahold Delhaize and NCR Voyix. “For example, if you’re putting a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) in, people understand that. But if you have a 30-year-old mainframe and you need US$50 million to get rid of it, it’s a harder conversation to get people to understand the ‘why’ behind that change and the value that will come from it.”[8]

Here are seven ways tech leaders could drive more effective technology conversations in the boardroom:

Translate technical jargon to business need. Jargon-free communications that include examples and anecdotes to distill complex issues may help board members better grasp a topic at hand. Technology leaders should ensure they are simplifying technological concepts and presenting to board members—some of whom may not have a technical background—in a way they can understand and make informed decisions around. These communications should be rooted in the business need and how technology supports and drives business strategy.

“The board doesn’t necessarily need a large deck; a simplified version with key charts on where things stand is valuable,” explains Janet Wong, a board member at Lucid Group, Lumentum Holdings, and Enviva. “To the extent that the presenter can really hit on key objectives for coming into the meeting and discuss or update us on the matters that the board should hear, I think that’s when the technology leader is in a win-win situation, and we appreciate that as a board.”[9]

Joanna Lau, founder and CEO of Lau Technologies and a board member at Designer Brands, advises that technology leaders ensure their takeaways are clear for every meeting and every presentation. “Sometimes the takeaways could be educational. Sometimes it’s approval. Sometimes it’s challenges they have or we have,” she says. “Make communications clear without technical jargon so the board understands the progress and challenges.”[10]

This clear, concise communication doesn’t just apply to formal presentations. It can also apply to pre-read materials, which a formal presentation then builds upon. Pre-reads can be an effective way to address the tactical, operational context so the actual board interaction can be focused on having a dialogue on strategic issues and future directions. These materials should provide the information needed to support decision-making and include relevant reference materials (analyst reports, studies, surveys, etc.) without overwhelming the audience. Assume board members have read the pre-reads and start the discussion where the pre-read ends.

“If you have an hour to present, a good rule of thumb is you get the first five minutes and your audience gets the rest,” says Cary McMillan, a board member at Hyatt Hotels Corp and American Eagle Outfitters. “Technology leaders should avoid taking 45 minutes to go through 12 slides to show all the different technology issues. Remember that you’re talking to an audience that wants to know what the issue is, how to solve it and that you’re the one to do it. Don’t just say, ‘I got this and I’ll get back to you.’ Say, ‘Okay, I got this, but we have to do this, that, and this other thing to get there.’ That makes sense and is understandable to the board.”[11]

Partner with the CFO to better articulate technology’s impact on the business. While CIOs and technology leaders are increasingly reporting to CEOs,[12] CFOs can be a key ally to technology leaders as they navigate the boardroom. Even though future technology strategy and investments are the biggest technology topics among boards,[13] six in 10 executives surveyed in Deloitte’s 2023 Global Technology Leadership Study say it’s difficult to quantify the benefits of individual technology investments[14] and half say they struggle to demonstrate a cause-effect relationship between technology investments and financial growth.[15] CIOs can work more closely with their CFO to document the technology function’s contributions and articulate that narrative in the financial impact and risk terms the board is often looking for.

One way to do that is by tying technology outcomes to the business and the problems technology is solving. “Leading with the business problem rather than leading with the technology problem is such a simple thing, but I think it would go a long way toward getting both sides of the conversation—board members and technology leaders—to connect with each other,” says Burkey.[16]

Consider a consistent structure for reporting and benchmarking. Another consideration for demonstrating transparency around technology spend and how it links to strategic goals is to create a consistent set of technology metrics aligned to business outcomes. According to some of the board members interviewed, technology leader presentations can sometimes feel complex with a hard-to-follow trajectory and no through line that connects one presentation to another over time. To encourage more clarity and connective tissue, boards and technology leaders should align on key business, performance, and operational metrics and put them on a one-pager so progress can be consistently tracked over time.

A board member of a private equity company, for example, mentioned that a technology scorecard that was presented to the board for each of their holding companies had the same eight metrics. This practice created consistency and allowed for easier evaluation and comparison among the holding companies. A similar approach can be taken for business units in a commercial enterprise.

Once those metrics are in hand, consider benchmarking them against competitors and other similar companies to put them into context. “Board members shouldn’t just take raw data. Ask for the best benchmarks; ask for, “Show me this compared to ‘good,’ ‘great,’ and ‘exceptional’ and where do we stand vis-à-vis those other metrics,” says Kirsten Wolberg, a board member at Dynatrace and Sallie Mae.[17]

Co-present to the board as often as possible. Being part of business or functional leader presentations and inviting those same leaders to be part of technology leadership presentations shows cohesion, collaboration, and alignment. It also allows technology leaders to build deeper relationships and be engaged on business outcomes rather than just technology solutions. Co-presenting can also extend to outside experts as well as up-and-coming technology leaders. By giving technology rockstars the opportunity to present to the board, technology leaders can not only help talent grow their skills, but they can also bring in a new perspective and voice to the table.

Engineer deep-dive technology sessions. Deloitte research shows that boards with technology expertise have experienced, on average, 5% greater revenue growth and 8% better stock performance, compared to companies without that expertise.[18] To help the board and CEO better understand emerging technology trends and potential disruptors, technology leaders could consider leading deep-dive conversations with board members where they explore the nuances of a specific technology, like gen AI, for instance. Having a half-day or a full-day deep dive can allow for a more detailed discussion on the topic, and also give technology leaders the chance to showcase their own technology prowess.

While it’s vital for the board to discuss and stay informed about emerging technologies and future trends, forming advisory councils and bringing in external perspectives could also enable a greater understanding of the broader market as well as industry trends so organizations can calibrate their technology capabilities accordingly and increase agility. 

Find opportunities to ask for feedback and engage informally. Technology touches every part of the organization, but technology executives continue to be limited in their engagement with their organization’s board. Only a little over half (57%) of organizations surveyed by Deloitte agree that technology leaders frequently engage with board directors outside of board meetings.[19]

Technology leaders often get so focused on presenting their perspective that they can forget board members are humans too with personalities, perspectives, and issues they’re passionate about. Technology leaders should consider more ways to build more informal, personal connections where they can develop a greater understanding of one another. “With so much change, it is so important for board members to regularly interact with key technology leaders. I have had a monthly check-in with some technology leaders at my organizations and not a week goes by where I don’t get an ad-hoc ping from one of them,” says Burkey.[20]

One-on-one meetings with board members shouldn’t be presentations, but rather active discussions between technology leaders and board members. “When joining a board, one of the first things I always do is have one-on-one conversations with the technology leaders,” says Wolberg. “I believe the strength of any organization is its people. If you have a technology leader who only presents to the board for ten minutes, you won’t have sufficient time to get to know and assess that individual.”[21]

In addition to building rapport, these informal connects can also be an opportunity for technology leaders to ask for feedback on areas like, “Are the materials I’m sharing useful?” or “Am I providing relevant and timely information, at the right level?” These conversations are often difficult to have in more formal settings, where time is short and agendas are packed, but can be valuable to long-term success.

“My advice to technology leaders is to find the most tech fluent member on the board and create a relationship where you can have informal conversations around where you’re investing money and why —and can also ask for advice,” says Miller. “The advice could be around, ‘How can I best present this to the board? What would lead to the most participation in the conversation?’ Having someone on the board that can help you with the board reslationships is invaluable and can lead to them becoming an advocate for you.”[22]

Take advantage of small board sessions and meetings. To help further engage the full board or a subset of board members on technology topics, technology leaders and the board can consider adding technology topics to agenda sessions outside of regular board of director meetings, such as:

• Audit committee meetings. Given that audit committees are focused on tracking major risks and compliance issues,[23] it’s one place where technology is often discussed. “With the boards I serve on, technology is always in the conversation since there’s so much going on. We’re always discussing technology—if not in the primary board then in the audit committee meetings,” says Wong.[24]
• Board strategy workshops. Smaller, less formal groups may also create opportunities for in-depth technology discussions. “During one of our quarterly board meetings, we had the board spend six hours with the extended senior leadership team in workshopping sessions where each breakout explored a different theme, like technology strategy,” says Burkey. “Being part of that process was great. You weren’t having that 12-minute conversation around the board table; you were really participating in a very meaningful and productive exchange.”[25]
• Compensation committees. Today, compensation committees have responsibilities that extend beyond just overseeing a company’s compensation and benefit policies. They are increasingly focused on the overall talent experience, retention rates, and skills gaps, as well as coordinating succession planning with the nominating committee.[26] One technology executive from a vehicle retailer recommended these committees look at progress against transformation goals when discussing leadership compensation, especially given the technology function’s capacity to transform businesses and corporate strategies: “Besides talent, how boards construct their compensation and reward system for management, and how they hold them accountable, can be tied to overall business transformation goals. Having a business transformation goal could be one of the parameters to determine compensation.”

To have or not to have a technology subcommittee

While the audit committee has historically been charged with issues related to technology,[27] some companies have established a separate technology committee to create more airtime for technology topics. Currently, 38% of executives surveyed by Deloitte say their organization has a formal committee focused on technology.[28]

To be sure, there is no one-size-fits-all governance answer to committees, and whether it’s a good idea or not will vary by company. In some cases, having a technology committee may inadvertently create overhead and red tape. This can lead to increased bureaucracy, duplication of efforts, time-consuming preparation and delivery of materials, diffusion of responsibility and communication issues. Most importantly, it can prevent the entire board from being fully engaged on a topic by limiting discussions to the smaller group. A tech-focused committee could also benefit from having board members that are well-versed in technology, yet only 18% of new directors surveyed in the United States in 2023 had a technology background.[29]

On the other hand, technology committees could elevate the focus of technology conversations from passively addressing audit deficiencies to seeing future possibilities and opportunities. Striking this balance between defensive (cyber, risk, and regulatory focus) and offensive (strategic, growth, and revenue focus) conversations could allow the board to get a more holistic picture of technology capabilities and how they can impact the future business trajectory. It can also elevate the role of technology leaders from being back-end support to strategic business partners.

“Having committees solely focused on technology, cyber, privacy, and data has definitely elevated technology in organizations,” says Wolberg. “It has both elevated the technology conversation and it’s given us more time to talk about technology topics. It’s not that technology conversations are often truncated because people don’t want to have them or don’t think they’re important; they are cut short because time is always a commodity. So, we can create space for discussion by creating committees.”[30]

A technology committee could also create another platform to discuss innovation and this idea of technology as a vehicle of strategy, rather than just an enabler of it. The aforementioned tech executive at one vehicle retailer shared: “We have formed a technology and innovation committee jointly supported by our technology and strategy functions. Here we spend quite a lot of time talking about where we’re going with tech, the major disrupting forces we’re seeing in our industry and how we’re preparing for that, among other things. This committee has given us the time and platform to have a meaningful conversation around change, transformation, and innovation.”

A technology committee could also create opportunities to educate board members on the nuances of certain technologies, like gen AI, if desired. This on-the-job education could not only help board members better steer the organizations they’re shepherding forward, but it could also benefit them in the long term, arming them with additional skills and expertise that they can ultimately apply to other technology environments.

Regardless of whether a separate technology committee is the right fit, what’s important is breaking down the life cycle of where technology influences different aspects within an organization and making sure it’s discussed in the right areas. For instance, technology strategy and capital allocation may be better suited to be addressed at the full-board level, but the regulation of data or talent implications and incentives could be discussed at the committee level. While there is no one right answer to where technology should be discussed in the boardroom, especially since it’s so pervasive, there should be an active discussion around which avenues are responsible for discussing which tech aspects.

“There’s not a cookie-cutter answer on whether there should be a separate technology committee,” adds Wong. “It’s going to be different for every company, based on what industry they’re in, what their market is, what their size, if they’re global, and what they’re trying to do from a strategy perspective. What’s important, though, is that there’s a discussion at the board level to decide where technology fits best, and whether it’s a shared workflow that runs through more than one committee or just a specific technology committee.”[31]

The answer to this question can evolve over time. Technologies and certain elements of risk come and go, so how (and where) technology is discussed may shift as well.

Questions board members can ask their CIO or CTO to help drive more tech-forward conversations

In addition to technology leaders driving engagement and communication with the board, board members can also help elevate technology conversations in the boardroom by ensuring that technology leaders consistently have a seat at the table so they can articulate what role technology is (and could be) playing in driving business strategy—and by knowing who is in the room.

“If board members have an intimate sense of the capabilities in the room, they can better leverage people where they excel, for example, who is best suited to sit on a technology committee as well as who can collaborate with their CIO,” explains Miller.[32]

The board should help elevate the conversation beyond just risks and costs to discuss topics like data strategy, talent, and the ethical use of technologies. Create headlines that give technology leaders an entry into being part of the conversation by saying, “If this is our ambition, this part is going to be tech-enabled and here’s where we need to engage technology leaders, along with the CEO and CFO.”

Once technology leaders are at the table, board members should ask strategic questions to determine whether everyone is in sync on key areas, such as strategy, building trust with customers, innovation, data privacy, and business transformations. Often, the first question may be, “How can we help?”

“I always ask the technology leaders during board meetings, ‘What can we do more of to help you from a technology perspective?’” says Wong. “Because sometimes they come in and present these big ideas, but what we want to know is, what do you need from the board to achieve them? How can we help you drive to the success of what you’re trying to do?”[33]

To continue the technology dialogue in the boardroom, or outside of it, here are questions boards should consider asking their technology leaders regularly:

What are the key technology obstacles to executing our business strategy? Often technology leaders’ presentations to boards identify the key risks and opportunities regarding specific initiatives. But sometimes systemic issues, along with cultural, organizational, process, or even leadership challenges, are root causes for not achieving business strategy goals. Technology, although complex, is often easier to implement than addressing these core issues. Board members should probe for, identify, and even preempt such issues and help technology leaders and management navigate through these key obstacles. Key questions boards should consider around this are, “Is the organization moving fast enough? Are technology and artificial intelligence appropriately integrated into the business strategy, capital allocation, etc.?”