As a tech exec in your firm, ask yourself: When is the last time you presented to the board? And how did that conversation go?

Was it after a data breach or security incident? Or have you recently been pulled in to explain what some supposedly disruptive technology like crypto or Web3 or the metaverse means for the business?

Or maybe you’ve never been called into the boardroom at all?

CIOs and CTOs have complicated relationships with their boards. Historically, they’ve been stuck in the position of problem-solving, begging for budget to keep the lights on, or getting deep in the weeds on geeky details that don’t translate to folks more concerned with P&L than natural language processing.

As digital acceleration makes technology essential to customer-obsessed, future fit firms’ success, we think now is a ripe opportunity for tech execs to develop a more strategic relationship with the board.

Boards need to hear from tech leadership. Technology is a key board concern, yet boards still lack technical expertise. A JWC Partners survey found that IT expertise was the top (38%) underrepresented skill on the board. And MIT Sloan researchers found that only 24% of boards were digitally savvy.

But tech execs need to learn to speak the board’s language. To effectively partner with the board, tech executives need to focus on how technology enables business priorities that align with the board’s remit: strategy, risk, and governance.

Our latest report dives into how tech execs can bring their expertise to the boardroom and communicate the business value of technology to address new market opportunities, improve stakeholder experiences, and support digital acceleration — things the board cares (or should care) most about. The report maps board responsibilities to the tech organization’s future fit business priorities so tech execs can more effectively focus their presentations to the board on customer-obsessed business outcomes, mitigating privacy and security risks, heading off disruption by experimenting with emerging technologies, and building trust by embedding the firm’s purpose, values, and ethics into the tech org.

Once you learn to speak the board’s language, we’re certain you can become a more strategic partner — and better conversationalist — with the board. Find out how you can Be The Digital Expert Your Board Needs.