22ND ANNUAL
How much AI oversight belongs at the board level? When does a cyber issue become material? What would an activist see before your board does? Where is succession planning strong on paper but fragile in practice?
For 22 years, the Boardroom Summit has brought public company directors together to discuss the questions that cannot be answered by another briefing alone.
This year’s agenda is shaped by direct input from public company directors, so the conversations reflect the decisions boards are working through now.
why attend
Agenda Overview
Hear how activists and sophisticated investors evaluate boards before a campaign becomes public. Discuss what signals suggest strength, what signals suggest vulnerability and where boards may be inviting scrutiny without realizing it.
Pressure-test your board’s potential blind spots in strategy, risk, AI and capital deployment. Identify one question your board should add to its next agenda before an outside investor asks it first.
Identify which global risks belong on the board’s radar, which belong with management and what indicators directors should be watching before geopolitical risk affects strategy, supply chains or capital allocation.
Examine where traditional oversight models may fall short when risk moves faster than dashboards, reporting cycles or committee calendars. Discuss how boards are adjusting risk thresholds, assumptions and escalation practices.
Explore what board oversight should look like as AI moves from supporting decisions to making or influencing them. Discuss where accountability sits, what guardrails belong at the board level and what directors should ask before autonomy scales.
Work through scenarios showing how AI is changing both cyber offense and defense. Discuss what boards should expect from management as AI accelerates threats, compresses response windows and introduces new vulnerabilities.
Look at where boards are facing greater scrutiny around ethics, controls, disclosure and individual accountability. Discuss the oversight questions directors should be asking before an issue becomes an enforcement problem.
Work through a compensation case from both the board and investor perspective. Examine where pay decisions create confidence, where they create frustration and what compensation committees should pressure-test before the proxy is filed.
closed-door sessions
Compare how other public company boards are approaching the same decisions now on your agenda: AI oversight, cyber accountability, investor pressure, CEO succession and regulatory exposure.
board committee peer exchange
Consistently rated the most valuable part of the Summit, the Board Committee Peer Exchange is where directors speak freely about the challenges they can’t address anywhere else.
Each off-the-record group is intentionally small and divided by committee and leadership roles to ensure relevance and candor. Topics are shaped by your input ahead of the Summit, so discussions reflect what you are dealing with at the moment.
“It was amazing how quickly the Peer Exchanges went and I think we could’ve easily gone on for two or three more hours. I think it helped that the agenda was effectively self-decided.”
Abercrombie & Fitch
Board Member
AutoNation
Global executive and board director with a track record leading customer strategy and large-scale transformation across multinational consumer businesses.
Vice Chairman
The Cohen Group
Former senior U.S. diplomat and Under Secretary of State bringing deep expertise in geopolitical strategy, crisis response, and global negotiations.
Board Member
Lloyd’s of London, Hays and Trustpilot
Silicon Valley-based technology executive and public company director with global operating experience across tech, government, and international markets.
Keynote Speaker
We’ll sit down with this year’s Director of the Year honoree, John Brock to reflect on what it actually takes to provide effective oversight when the stakes are highest—how to support bold strategic decisions without rubber-stamping them, how to manage the board-management boundary through leadership transitions, and what he’s learned from decades leading complex, consumer-facing businesses about the judgment calls that define a board’s legacy.
Lead Director, Royal Caribbean Group
After two days in New York, you’ll return with a sharper sense of how other public company boards are approaching decisions that do not have settled answers.
You’ll leave with:
Join fellow public company directors at the 2026 Boardroom Summit for two days of peer exchange, practical insight, and boardroom-ready takeaways.
“Thank you for planning another impactful summit. Your thoughtfulness in structuring the event for warm engagement and idea sharing had such a positive result.”
Head of Board Advisory, Americas, Nasdaq
“I would definitely recommend the Summit – there was an impressive speaker line-up and it was a good opportunity to meet other board members with similar issues.”
Lumentum
“Good networking with high-quality attendees. There was a wide array of timely topics covered, and the size of breakouts were appropriate to generate robust discussions.”
RWC
Years of experience delivering exceptional board events
Attendees allows for a curated and exclusive gathering
In an era of constant disruption and shifting stakeholder expectations, boards must challenge long-held assumptions to foster forward-thinking strategies and build resilience. This panel will explore how best-in-class boards are leveraging diverse perspectives to challenge entrenched thinking, anticipate emerging trends, mitigate risks and navigate uncertainty with agility. We’ll examine specific tactics to help your board drive better decision-making, strengthen organizational resilience, and lead with purpose through more intentional governance efforts.
As regulatory landscapes evolve here and abroad, public companies must stay ahead of both global policy trends and domestic requirements. In this session, hear directly from a leading voice at the SEC as we explore the regulatory priorities shaping 2025 and beyond. From ESG disclosures and human capital reporting to cross-border compliance challenges, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of what’s in the SEC’s enforcement plans for the year ahead and how to prepare for upcoming changes.
Aligning the board’s vision with shareholder priorities has never been more critical—or more challenging. This session will share what’s top-of-mind for investors on fundamental governance issues, the common disconnects between boards and investors, and effective strategies for meaningful shareholder engagement and dialogue. Learn helpful strategies to build trust and strengthen your shareholder relationships as your board seeks to enhance long-term value creation.
As artificial intelligence transforms industries, boards face unprecedented challenges in navigating its ethical, technological and regulatory dimensions. This session will offer a framework to help your board approach AI governance with confidence and integrity, ensuring sustainable and trustworthy practices within your organization. You’ll engage in hypothetical scenarios that highlight real-world applications of AI to foster a compelling group conversation around ethical dilemmas and responsible AI use.
CEO succession is one of the board’s most critical and complex responsibilities. This session will go beyond traditional frameworks, using dynamic hypothetical scenarios to spark debate and explore tough questions, including: What do you do when the current CEO isn’t aligned with the process? How should the board navigate when an internal candidate seems ready, but investors favor an external option? And how can boards balance the CEO’s input with the need for independent decision-making?
We have a room block at the Sheraton New York Times Square. The deadline for receiving the special group rate is Monday, September 7.
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Join our Corporate Board Member Network community of directors and executives to access these exclusive opportunities, enhancing your leadership skills and enabling you to make more informed decisions to help your organization(s) thrive and grow.
