Technical note · Consulting firm
Board effectiveness and the chair of the future: Five fundamental forces that define the modern chair’s role
The board chair’s role is expanding: governance, societal expectations, climate, crisis and the board’s digital operation.
- Organization
- Deloitte Global Boardroom Program
- Document date
- 2022
- Type
- Technical note
- Language
- English
- Scope
- International
- Length
- 28 pages
What it contains
The report, from the Deloitte Global Boardroom Program, gathers the reality, aspirations and advice of more than 300 board chairs in 16 countries, drawn from interviews, roundtables and surveys. It starts from the fact that the chair’s role has grown dramatically: the chair is the CEO’s trusted sounding board but must respect the boundaries between governance and oversight on one side and management and operations on the other. A chair from Ireland observes that boards should not be drawn to problem-solving, but should bring a strategic and long-term lens.
The five forces that define the role are: organizational governance needs more chair input; society expects more from business; climate change forces business to respond; crisis leadership is becoming the norm; and board operations call for digital enhancement and agility. Each is developed in a section, followed by advice for the chair of the future.
The context includes the pandemic, geopolitical disruption, digital transformation, climate change, increasing regulation and investor scrutiny. The document offers a practical view for those who sit on boards or committees or support their secretariat.
Why it matters for risk management
Useful for teams that prepare information for boards and risk committees, since it describes expectations of the chair’s role and the board’s agenda. It is a 2022 study of board chairs’ perceptions and not a corporate governance rule.
No official page with an exact date was verified; the copy that the Club originally published on this site is linked. The year is that of the Club’s publication (October 2022).
Summary prepared by the Dominican Republic Risk Management Club from a reading of the original document, with the source verified on 7 October 2026. It does not replace reading the official text and is not advice.
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