Boardroom

As corporate complexity multiplies into 2026, the board chair will have to grapple with the upheaval on the corporate landscape. Historically centered on governance stewardship, strategic guidance, and CEO partnership, the chair is increasingly becoming the architect of enterprise risk governance and – in real-time – the chief navigator for continuous strategic revision.

In November 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance announced a significant change to how it will handle Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal exclusions for the 2025-2026 proxy season. Rather than providing substantive no-action responses on most exclusion requests, the Division will largely step back from evaluating whether companies can exclude shareholder proposals. In turn, this leaves companies and proponents to navigate more uncertainty and shifting responsibilities in the proxy process.

Quantum computing is moving fast from theoretical promise to boardroom strategy. With venture funding topping $2.6 billion globally in 2024, of which $1.7 billion went to U.S. companies, U.S. multinationals are launching quantum pilots and assessing their risks to encryption threats. Whether it’s big tech, pharmaceutical, or energy, if fully commercialized, analysts estimate a $2 trillion economic impact by 2035. Can your organization gain the quantum advantage?

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.