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Skip to main contentThe list begins with AI, a once-in-a-generation technology that threatens nearly every business. It continues with an employee base that stands up to firms in very public and unprecedented ways on social media. Then there are the record number of activist campaigns. And did we mention all the global unrest?
It's a lot for CEOs to handle, and as our recent Korn Ferry report suggests, some may have reached their breaking point. Turns out, their bosses are feeling some of the same heat as well.
In rapid fashion, boards—which were confined, just a generation ago, to stewarding governance and hiring new CEOs—have found themselves thrust into many of the same dramas firm leaders are facing. It’s not a job most of them signed up for. “To some extent, directors who are used to swimming in fresh water are now in salt water,” says Jane Edison Stevenson, global vice chair of Korn Ferry’s Board and CEO Services practice. “There’s a different rhythm, and it’s challenging.”
To be sure, the pressures for the typical director are not the same—or as intense—as those facing the occupant of the corner office. CEOs face a wave of decisions almost daily, while directors typically meet quarterly. But many experts are questioning whether the makeup of modern boards is shifting fast enough to face the barrage of challenges confronting a director in today’s era. According to the Conference Board, less than 10% of all S&P 500 firms have instituted term limits for directors. The result: Many directors stay on the job over a decade, and diversity remains an issue.
Without enough new blood, experts say, there is growing concern that some boards may not develop the skills to understand both the risks and opportunities of, say, artificial intelligence. Or they may not be familiar enough with today’s business climate to understand (for example) why corporate growth has been stalling. “The level of impact and elevation that a board member has to provide is higher than it was 10 years ago,” Stevenson says. “It’s not a rubber-stamp job anymore, if it ever was.”
Directors, of course, focus on CEO performance and succession, and many have had their hands full with those roles alone. According to one report, almost 2,000 CEOs left or were forced out through December 2024, the highest-ever year-to-date total. But board roles and responsibility are growing, not least because regulatory outfits are putting more burden on directors to assess everything from corporate risk to the climate impact of their firms’ products. The average director now serves on four or five committees with highly specialized demands.
That leaves little, or less, time for the mounting disruptions—the so-called breaking points—companies are facing today. For directors, the most pressing among them may be activist campaigns, which broke records in 2023 and continue to rise in 2024. According to Stu Crandell, senior client partner in Korn Ferry’s Board and CEO Services practice, such campaigns can blow up even the best-laid succession plans—since activist shareholders often have their own ideas on leadership. “All of the time and work boards have given to grooming candidates often gets thrown out the window,” he says.
Many of the same disruptions facing CEOs these days hit the boardroom as well, but in different ways. Inflation, two wars, and volatile stock markets have reduced the time directors can spend on a critical supporting role: discussing corporate strategy with the CEO. In Korn Ferry research on board evaluations at S&P 500 firms, 37% of directors called the lack of conversation they’re having about strategic direction one of their top concerns. “It’s one of their biggest complaints,” says Anthony Goodman, head of the North American Board Effectiveness practice at Korn Ferry.
To their credit, many boards are trying to find new ways to deal with their own—and their CEO’s—breaking points. Experts say that this moment may offer unprecedented opportunities for boards as they increase their level of engagement. “The chair needs to model the culture on the board that they want to see the CEO create within the company,” says Elise Schroeter, global head of organization and talent strategies for the Board and CEO Services practice at Korn Ferry. Collaboration will be key as well, says Stevenson. “What’s shareable is bearable,” she says.
To learn more about the most daunting pressure points facing today’s CEOs, read our latest Briefings feature, The Breaking Point.
