CEO succession and transition planning, and governing artificial intelligence

Boards and General Management, Board risk oversight, Cybersecurity
/ Insurance and Asset Management

Lead Director Network, May 2019

Hiring and firing a CEO is a core board responsibility and one that most directors are likely to encounter multiple times during their careers. Nevertheless, CEO transitions remain a persistent challenge for boards, with existential repercussions for their companies when executed poorly. Boards also face challenges stemming from new technologies, which bring both opportunities and risks; artificial intelligence (AI) is a significant example, and boards are just beginning to wrestle with how to exercise effective governance.

Members of the Lead Director Network (LDN) met on March 14, 2019 in Washington, DC, to discuss the board’s role in overseeing CEO succession planning. In a separate session, members discussed the governance of AI with Lee Tiedrich, a partner at Covington & Burling and leader of the firm’s AI initiative, and Steve Weber, a professor in the School of Information Science at the University of California, Berkeley.