
Poll Finds U.S. Boards Struggling To Navigate Washington ‘Mess’
As tariffs, inflation and sourcing disruptions grow, a new poll finds America’s public-company boardrooms fighting to manage the moment. ‘You can’t forecast anything.’
Launched in the third quarter of 2020, the Director Confidence Index is America’s first ongoing pulse survey of public company board members on their perspective of the economy and how policies and current events are affecting the companies they oversee. Every quarter, Corporate Board Member and Diligent partner to ask thousands of public company directors the same three questions regarding their confidence in the current business environment, their outlook for the economy 12 months from now, and their projections for their board company’s revenue, profit and capex for the year ahead. Supplementing those three questions are questions on current events, as they pertain to corporate strategy and governance.
Participation in the poll is reserved exclusively for directors of publicly traded companies, across all sectors and market capitalizations.
The survey only remains open for 48 hours, thus making for a very timely assessment of sentiment. The data is then compiled and analyzed to establish trends and calculate the Index’s weighted averages. The results are released in the following days on boardmember.com, with exclusive comments and insights from participating directors. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon by the respondent, all responses are kept confidential to allow board members to share their perspective in a respectful, truthful, unbiased and collegial setting.
As tariffs, inflation and sourcing disruptions grow, a new poll finds America’s public-company boardrooms fighting to manage the moment. ‘You can’t forecast anything.’
Q2 polling data finds U.S. public company board members slightly more optimistic in their 12-month forecasts than in Q1, though most continue to expect a recession in the near term.
Public company general counsel share their view of the top risks for U.S. companies in 2025—and highlight potential opportunities for enhanced board collaboration.
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.