by Ray Garcia and Paul DeNicola
Business leaders in 2025 have their hands full guiding their companies through rapid shifts in policy, global alliances, and market dynamics. In many ways the uncertainty is unprecedented. But this volatility also presents a powerful opportunity: to reimagine strategies, build greater resilience, and uncover new avenues for growth.
The fifth annual Board effectiveness: A survey of the C-suite from PwC and The Conference Board illuminates how top executives see their boards of directors as contributing to achieving strategic goals and where directors are falling short.
In these unpredictable times, leadership matters more than ever. Boards play a critical role—not only in providing oversight. But in helping companies find clarity and direction amid the noise. Executives and stakeholders’ expectations of boards are rising fast, as is the need for directors to bring both vision and versatility to the table.
Are boards meeting these expectations? In some ways, yes. As our survey results show, more executives are expressing confidence in their boards. Progress is clear—but so are the opportunities for enhancement. Executives and stakeholders are calling upon directors to expand their remit, refresh their skill sets, and align more closely with their companies’ operational realities.
This year’s Board effectiveness: A survey of the C-suite, capturing insights from more than 500 executives, reveals a landscape of both momentum and challenge. Encouragingly, 35% of executives now say their boards are doing an excellent or good job, up from 30% in the prior year. At the same time, concerns remain about board composition, directors’ preparedness for global complexity, and the evolving boundaries of board oversight.
By comparing executives’ views of boards with insights from PwC’s 2024 Annual Corporate Directors Survey—which captures directors’ assessments of themselves—we highlight where alignment is strong and where more connection is needed. Executives and directors often view board priorities through different lenses, shaped by their roles. Bridging those perspectives will be key to navigating the rocky road ahead.
Board Effectiveness
Our survey shows growing executive confidence in board effectiveness; notably, 72% of CFOs now rate their boards as excellent or good, up from 42% in 2022. More executives now believe directors are dedicating sufficient time to their responsibilities—42%, up from just 29% the previous year.
Board Refreshment
Even as executives express growing confidence in their boards’ effectiveness, many want to see change: 93% of executives indicate that at least one director should be replaced, while 78% want two or more directors replaced. Executives’ push for board refreshment reflects a desire for new skills and perspectives in the boardroom.
Board Composition
Executives’ ever-louder call for increased board refreshment isn’t about turnover for the sake of change: Only 32% of executives believe their boards have the right mix of skills and expertise to guide their companies forward. As business challenges shift, executives want to see boardroom expertise in areas they see as critical to oversight. In this year’s survey, international and AI expertise emerged as executives’ top priorities, perhaps unsurprising given growing geopolitical uncertainty and the rapid rise of generative AI. Our survey of directors, though, suggests that they see far less urgency in adding expertise in those areas, suggesting a potential misalignment in priorities.
Board Role and Engagement
While more executives believe boards are dedicating sufficient time to their responsibilities, the percentage who see directors as overstepping their role—crossing the line from oversight into management—has doubled, to 32%. This perception may be partly driven by the increased expectations placed on boards to provide robust oversight in critical and emerging areas. In addition, as boards add directors with deep subject matter expertise in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, climate, and digital transformation, those individuals may feel both equipped and compelled to engage more directly—sometimes in ways that executives see as straying into execution-level matters.
Board Time and Attention
Our surveys ask executives and directors to rank agenda priorities, and sometimes they neatly align. This year, leaders agree that boards should spend more time focusing on talent and AI, with both ranking them as boards’ second- and third-highest priorities.
Top Risks
Executives and directors view top risks through different lenses. In our survey, executives are most concerned with talent, supply chain issues, and AI, while directors—perhaps reflecting their broader governance role—focus on strategic disruption, financial performance, and data privacy.
A Road Map
As companies look to the future, the ability of boards and management to collaborate, lead through change, and seize emerging opportunities will be critical to long-term resilience, innovation, and success. With this year’s Board effectiveness: A survey of the C-suite, we aim to offer a clear road map for strengthening that relationship—and helping businesses not only weather uncertainty but grow through it.
Ray Garcia is the Governance Insights Center Leader at PwC
Paul DeNicola is a Principal, Governance Insights Center at PwC