In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at a breathtaking pace, board members are facing unprecedented challenges—and opportunities—that demand their immediate attention. This was a key takeaway from a recent conversation at our Boardroom Summit, where Florin Rotar, who as Chief AI Officer, who oversees AI and AI training for the 65,000-person consulting firm Avanade, highlighted the urgency of embracing AI—even if doing so means getting more comfortable with risk-taking and the possibility of short-term failure.
As AI transitions from being a tool for cost-cutting to a driver of revenue and innovation, understanding its mid-to-long-term impact is not optional; it’s imperative. Rotar and co-panelist Keith Meyer, who is board services global practice leader for Major, Lindsey & Africa, shared seven steps boards can take to navigate the complexities of AI, from fostering cultural shifts to preparing for inevitable regulatory oversight.
1. Understand the imperative: “We are probably, as an industry and as leaders, overestimating the short-term impact, but dramatically underestimating the midterm impact,” said Rotar. His take: The biggest risk is not taking risks with AI.
2. Shift your focus. “The way we use generative AI for the first three years was very much in operational efficiency and cost cutting and automation, but where our CEO and the board are asking us to focus now is on revenue growth,” said Rotar, who likens the current environment to that of the tech boom in the 1990s. “There were loads of dot-com companies that went bust, but the titans of the industry— the Netflixes and Amazons—were born. The next generation of industry titans are literally being born today.”
3. Get your people on board. “People raise concerns about cybersecurity and deep fakes, but the biggest risk is not the technology, it’s the people and their willingness and readiness to adopt and use AI,” said Rotar. “There is a huge fear factor and distrust of technology so you really need to build trust in order to get good adoption at scale and to realize the value that people are expecting. You will know when you have managed that cultural shift when people in your organization don’t smirk or feel relieved when AI makes a mistake. You need to help them view this as using technology to help them become the best version of themselves.”
4. Prepare for regulation: “If you do business in Europe, you will be regulated,” said Rotar, who urged board members to ask management teams about their strategies for responsible AI. “If the response is ‘What are you talking about?’ then you have a risk.”
5. Create an AI control tower: To address AI governance, Rotar suggests a centralized system for monitoring AI’s integration and impact across the organization. “The risk that we as a board think we’re taking is actually represented in reality on the ground,” Rotar explained. “That, in my experience, is the biggest risk today.” This AI “control tower” functions at multiple levels—project teams, executive management and the board, aligned and interconnected—enabling boards to set risk parameters, monitor use cases and maintain transparency in AI’s application.
6. Require an AI Driver’s License: Avanade implemented a “School of AI” to train its employees and introduced the concept of an AI driver’s license. “Every single one of our 65,000 people have had to go through a training of responsible AI and basic prompting,” Rotar said. This initiative ensures that all employees, regardless of role, understand AI’s fundamentals and responsible usage. Depending on their responsibilities, employees receive different levels of licensing. “You need to go through a lot more checks if you’ll be driving the equivalent of an 18-wheeler,” he said. “We also test people, and if you [make] mistakes, you might get your driver’s license revoked.”
7. Bring AI into the boardroom: Avanade’s board uses AI to streamline its workflow, allowing directors to interact directly with data rather than being inundated with reports. AI tools help boards by preparing materials, synthesizing data and even simulating complex scenarios to facilitate more productive and informed meetings. For instance, AI can simulate the actions of activist investors—allowing boards and management to prepare for potential challenges proactively.
