Harvard Business Review, March–April 2026
The latest Harvard Business Review (March/April 2026) highlights a critical shift: The “Gut Instinct” Chair is out. The “Synthesizer” is in.
As boards grapple with the collision of emerging tech and global volatility, the role of the Non-Executive Director (NED) has fundamentally changed.
We are no longer there to just “monitor” risk; we are there to reconcile contradictions.
🌍 As a NED focused on international operations and geopolitical risks, three takeaways from the article resonate deeply:
𝟭. 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆:
The HBR article is clear: the days of “wait and see” are over.
Whether we are discussing the ethics of AI or the fragility of international trade routes, these issues are inseparable.
I view my role as a “synthesizer”—helping the board understand how geopolitical friction creates technological hurdles, and how to navigate both to find a competitive advantage.
𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 “𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲”:
No single director can be an expert in everything.
The Chair’s new mandate is to build a culture of “psychological safety” where boards can admit what they don’t know about new tech and learn together.
My role is often as much about facilitating this collective intelligence as it is about providing expertise.
𝟯. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢:
With CEOs increasingly overwhelmed by the pace of global change, specialized NEDs must step up as active partners—easing the executive workload by scanning the long-term horizon while the team focuses on execution.
‼️ The article is a wake-up call:
Traditional strategic acumen is no longer enough.
The boards that win in 2026 are those that can turn geopolitical complexity into a competitive advantage.
⁉️ I’m curious to hear from my fellow directors:
How is your board evolving its “skills audit” to meet these new pressures? 👇