4 Trends for CEOs and Boards to Watch in 2026
An old Jack Welsh quote might sum up 2025 best: “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”
And while the end isn’t near for many companies, the rate at which they’ve had to adapt has definitely sped up. AI, which was once used primarily in pilots, has evolved; now it’s embedded into day-to-day operations. Tariffs have created new scenario-planning situations and threatened stable supply chains. And the average tenure of CEOs has continued to decline, with fewer people wanting the top job. “Leaders are living in a world where the normal rules they grew up with don’t apply,” says Jane Edison Stevenson, global vice chair of Korn Ferry’s Board and Services practice.
As CEOs and boards lead in this complex environment, here’s what they’re watching for in 2026.
1’AI Ethics’ in the Boardroom
Across a variety of departments, 40% of companies have been piloting AI in their work, but in 2026 experts predict boards will begin using it more, on “everything from real-time analyses to sensing risk and internal controls for the audit committee,” says James Stark, senior client partner in Korn Ferry’s Financial Officers and Industrial practices. By drafting minutes and highlighting follow-up tasks for members, AI likely will also help with board governance mechanics.
But as boards experiment more with AI, they’ll need to be mindful of fiduciary issues requiring directors to ensure that AI-generated info—whether from management or their own research—is accurate. For decades, the business judgement rule, a legal principle, has protected board members who rely on information supplied by management to make decisions. But with AI giving directors the ability, and potentially the obligation, to look beyond what management provides to them, boards will need to reexamine their obligations, experts say. “”They’ll need to know what to accept and what to look up,” says Anthony Goodman, head of Korn Ferry’s Board Effectiveness practice.
2New Leaders For a New Era
Years of organizations chopping or significantly slimming down their leadership development programs are now coming to fruition. Experts say access to talent will be challenging for companies, making the ongoing development and transformation of their existing talent base even more of a priority, says Joe Griesedieck, a Korn Ferry vice chairman. This issue has been exacerbated both by US educational outcomes that don’t favor a talent pipeline and also by current limitations on access to non-US talent. “The challenges for CEOs will only increase in terms of rethinking organizational strategy and effectiveness,” Griesedieck says.
There’s also a broader lack of desire and ambition to be at the top of the house. “Fewer people are raising their hand and wanting to go after leadership opportunities,” Stevenson says.
For boards and CEOs, this means beefing up leadership development pipelines and ensuring succession planning is an ongoing process. Only 12% of CEOs and directors surveyed by Korn Ferry said they review succession plans more than once quarterly. “CEOs and boards have the opportunity to accelerate performance earlier and retain the people they want,” says Tierney Remick, co-leader of Korn Ferry’s Board and CEO Services practice.
3Time to Take Sides?
Across the world, government interference in business reached new levels in 2025. Experts say that geopolitical challenges likely won’t slow down next year. Amid dozens of wars and insurgencies, not to mention tariff inconsistency and inflation, CEOs and directors will have to continue adjusting their strategies around instability, Remick says. “Companies need to focus on what they can control, and recognize what they can’t.”
While there isn’t much that companies can control geopolitically, experts say savvy leaders are realizing that political agendas are more intertwined than ever before with corporate agendas. This has led to new ways of thinking about collaboration with governments. “It’s about economic security and competition,” says Claudia Pici Morris, co-lead of Korn Ferry’s Board Succession practice. “Other countries are evolving faster than we are in certain areas.”
4Cracking the Gen-Z Code
Over time, companies have had to adapt to the differing traits of every new generation, and the motivations and desires of Gen Z and Gen Alpha will continue to have a profound impact on how companies manage their people. “What motivates Gen X doesn’t motivate Gen Z,” says Sarah Oliva, a principal in the Board Effectiveness practice. “A one-size-fits-all approach to culture, engagement, and professional development is no longer effective.”
Many younger employees have a very different idea of what success looks like. This means that boards and C-suites will need to rethink traditional career progression and incentives by creating or backing more flexible talent-management strategies. “The latest generation isn’t buying into the norms of corporate America, which is going to have a profound impact on senior leaders of the future,” Stevenson says. Adds Remick: “Generation Alpha believes in socialism, not capitalism.”
Learn more about what’s top of mind for CEOs and boards.
