‘Boards set up solely of corporate governance heavyweights are a thing of the past’ – Zak Borg

Traditionally, what is understood by the role of a company’s board of directors is that of an executive committee who is elected to represent shareholders by jointly supervising the activities of the organisation, but as the world around us and the business landscape changes alongside it, the function of a board should also shift accordingly, says Zak Borg, Co-Founder & Executive Director at ANCHOVY.

In a recent article advocating for structuring companies’ boards to the digital age, he argues that it is increasingly important, particularly for businesses within the manufacturing and transportation sectors, to act quickly and leverage the opportunity to have a board with a digital agenda, whose composition allows for a digital mindset.

“The goal for the board isn’t to understand the technology but, rather, to understand how to use it to the benefit of the organisation,” he writes, affirming that the “traditional thinking of boards set up solely with corporate governance heavyweights is something of the past and businesses must design boards that add value to the management team rather than hinder them due to the lack of digital knowledge.”

 And once a company has designed its board in such a way, the next step, Zak says, is to also structure board meetings and the board’s management in a digital-first manner, which will directly impact the way in which the board thinks and meet.

Framing his argument with three key takeaways, the Executive Director advises:

1. “Design a well-blended board with digital first board members that are able to leverage digital for the benefit of the organisation.”
2. “Structure board meetings and workshops with a digital reinvention agenda item always present.”
3. “A key health check is whether or not the board is able to pass on digital knowledge to the management team or not.”