This newsletter shares insights from executive coaching, successful organizations and impactful leadership. Every week, you will receive a new email that is jam-packed with leadership insights, strategies and actionable steps for senior leaders and aspiring ones. Thank you for being a part of my journey, and I look forward to sharing my most valuable content with you!

93% of C-suite executives believe at least one member of their board should be replaced

And 55% of directors, privately, agree that a colleague should go🚨

Both are record highs in the PwC Annual Corporate Directors Survey. GLOBAL BOARD INSTITUTE's 2026 report is a masterclass in institutional honesty

The contradictions defining 2026 governance:

🔸 Contradiction 1: Betting on #AI, yet cannot oversee it. 76% of directors say AI is central to 2026 growth. 66% admit limited or no AI knowledge. Only 39% of Fortune 100 companies disclose any board-level AI oversight. Yet MIT Sloan shows AI-literate boards outperform peers by +10.9pp in ROE

🔸 Contradiction 2: Want to replace colleagues — refuse to refresh. 374 new S&P 500 directors in 2025 — down 8% YoY, lowest rate since 2016. Women fell from 42% to 38% of new appointments. Active-CEO directors dropped from 22% to 19%. Dissatisfaction without action 📉

🔸 Contradiction 3: Workload exploded. Pay did not. Median S&P Global 500 director pay stuck at $325,000 — while responsibilities now include cyber, AI, ESG, geopolitics, succession & crisis management

🔸 Contradiction 4: CEO churn hit a record high. 234 global CEO departures in 2025, up 16% YoY. Average tenure fell to 7.1 years. For the FIRST TIME EVER, "planned succession" (32%) overtook "retirement" (26%) as the leading reason for CEO departure 🌀

🔸 Contradiction 5: Assessments exist. They do not work. Only 32% of executives believe their board has the right skills. 78% say board assessments do not capture the full picture. 51% skip individual director evaluations entirely.

As Wassim Karkabi, Founder of the Global Board Institute, put it: "Something is broken in the boardroom and the data no longer allows us to look away"

Here is my take after sitting with this data for a week:

Boards are living through a legitimacy crisis dressed up as a governance challenge. The answer is not more committees. It is not another cybersecurity deck. It is the honest, annual question — asked aloud — "Is this board designed for the company we ARE becoming, or the company we USED to be?"
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❓ My question for every NED reading this: if you ran a skills-gap audit of your board tomorrow — publicly — what would it reveal?

📣 But don't take my word for it. Take it from a recent CEO client of mine:

💬 "Throughout our journey, Navid's dedication & expertise as a CEO Coach were evident. He helped me tap into valuable & succinct resources and provided me with valuable insights to re-define our organisational strategy & establish this appropriately with the board of directors. Navid’s ability to add long-lasting value & his commitment to our relationship are truly remarkable. I am deeply grateful for Navid's coaching, which has been a transformative experience. His support has been a cornerstone in my executive career development, & I look forward to continuing our connection in the future"

#Governance #Boards #MasteringExecutiveTransitions #ETQ
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About Navid Nazemian
​Ranked as the world’s #1 Executive Coach by CEO Today for the third year running, I partner with senior leaders to navigate complexity, accelerate performance, and lead through critical transitions. Over the past two decades, I’ve supported hundreds of executives in overcoming unproductive thinking and solving their most complex leadership challenges—helping their organizations build world-class cultures and create lasting value.
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If you’d like to reflect on a leadership challenge, an upcoming transition, or how I might support you, you’re very welcome to reply directly to this email.​
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​You can also:

1. ​Connect with me on LinkedIn for additional leadership insights
2. Explore my international best-selling book ‚Mastering Executive Transitions: The Definitive Guide‘ described by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith as “THE ultimate guide to executive transitions to help leaders achieve their highest potential”
3. Leave a review for my book here​

What's Next? More insights on leadership, transitions, and executive effectiveness are coming your way next week. I’d genuinely value your perspective—feel free to share your reflections by replying to this email. I read every response.

Navid

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