Adaptability beats pedigree in succession
OnBoard argued that board succession planning is shifting: adaptability and learning velocity now outrank traditional experience as companies prepare for future challenges. The post suggests nom/gov committees will prioritize agility and rapid‑learning capability in director pipelines. (x.com)
OnBoard published a Public Company Series podcast episode on March 25, 2026 that features Korn Ferry’s Jane Edison Stevenson and Claudia Pici Morris discussing board succession and director readiness. (onboardmeetings.com) The episode explicitly draws on Korn Ferry’s chapter in The Public Company Series: Board Structure and Composition, a guide developed by the New York Stock Exchange in collaboration with J.P. Morgan. (onboardmeetings.com) Stevenson and Morris recommend operational tools — specifically a “board succession blueprint” and a “board success profile” — to move boards from once‑a‑year exercises to continuous, forward‑looking succession planning. (onboardmeetings.com) Spencer Stuart’s guidance to nominating and governance committees calls for planning three to five years ahead and warns that committees are under greater scrutiny, with CEO succession and board composition elevated as top priorities. (spencerstuart.com) PwC’s director surveys back this shift: 45% of directors in PwC’s 2025 Annual Corporate Directors Survey say they plan to pursue additional training on key topics, and PwC’s 2024 survey found 49% of public‑company directors wanted at least one peer replaced — indicating simultaneous demand for learning and board refresh. (directorsandboards.com) Korn Ferry frames the output of well‑designed, learning‑oriented pipelines as “corporate wisdom,” a composite of diverse perspectives credited to former PepsiCo CEO Steve Reinemund that the firm says compounds strategic value in the boardroom. (onboardmeetings.com)
