Advisor

Curt Hall

This Advisor series explores the emergence of on-orbit data centers — space-based platforms that enable real-time, AI-powered data processing and analysis directly in orbit. Here in Part I, we examine the enabling technologies, key benefits, and transformative potential of these systems for autonomous space operations, Earth observation, defense, manufacturing, and beyond.

Advisor

Siah Hwee Ang

Most organizations underutilize their boards, treating directors primarily as oversight agents rather than strategic partners. This Advisor recommends a shift toward deeper, ongoing engagement between directors and management to unlock the full value of board expertise. By institutionalizing both hard and soft skills — through regular interaction, strategic involvement, and better succession planning — organizations can ensure board knowledge becomes a lasting asset, not a transient one.

Advisor

Dan Salas, Caroline Hernandez

As biodiversity loss intensifies, companies face mounting pressure to integrate nature positive actions into their sustainability strategies. This Advisor explores how businesses can operationalize these efforts by leveraging established tools and frameworks to assess nature-related risks and opportunities. It also highlights the importance of third-party verification to avoid greenwashing and ensure meaningful outcomes.

Advisor

Michal Baczyk

This Advisor explores the accelerating convergence of academic research and industry investment in quantum algorithms, marking a shift from theoretical promise to practical application. From simulating molecules in drug discovery to optimizing logistics and advancing financial modeling, quantum algorithms are beginning to deliver domain-specific value. As industries invest in identifying where quantum advantage matters most, the focus is turning to integrating these tools into real-world workflows and architectures.

Advisor

Shuhui Wang, Hirindu Kawshala

This Advisor explores how CEO overconfidence influences firm complexity, drawing on analysis of over 14,000 earnings call transcripts. While confident leaders may aim to streamline operations, the findings show a 3.1% reduction in complexity among firms led by overconfident CEOs — raising concerns about oversimplification. Boards and investors should carefully evaluate whether reduced complexity reflects strategic clarity or signals deeper organizational blind spots.

Advisor

Margaret Waldock, Jonathan Wagar, David Jeffrey Ringer

This Advisor explores how campuses and peri-urban communities can become powerful agents of climate action by implementing decarbonization strategies within a broader framework developed by Duke Farms. By integrating emissions reductions with biodiversity and carbon-sequestration goals, it highlights scalable, place-based solutions that address the urgent need for local action in the face of global environmental threats.

Advisor

Curt Hall

This Advisor explores how cybersecurity vendors are harnessing AI to detect and counter increasingly sophisticated deepfakes. It examines emerging capabilities such as multimodal detection engines, real-time threat mitigation, forensic analysis, and behavioral biometrics — technologies designed to safeguard organizations against fraud, impersonation, and synthetic media manipulation.

Advisor

San Murugesan

AI’s rapid adoption offers transformative potential but also introduces significant risks — some with potentially irreversible consequences. This Advisor highlights the importance of strategic leadership in managing these risks through integrated business, AI, and organizational strategies. It underscores the need for human oversight in critical systems, structured AI risk management frameworks, and a commitment to responsible development.

Advisor

Paul Godfrey, Vishal Gajjar

This Advisor introduces the Sustainability Canvas, a strategic framework designed to help CSOs and business leaders develop integrated, long-term sustainability programs. Anchored by four compass points — internal versus external focus and private markets versus the public square — the Canvas identifies key areas of sustainability action across compliance, efficiency, innovation, and community engagement. By linking activities across these quadrants, organizations can unlock synergies that drive economic, social, and strategic value.

Article

Trevor Hunter

Trevor Hunter examines how leader character strengthens board decision-making. As ESG considerations and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) reshape board responsibilities, directors are now accountable to a broader set of stakeholders beyond shareholders. Hunter draws on the Leader Character Framework developed by Mary Crossan, Gerard Seijts, and Jeffrey Gandz of Canada’s Ivey Business School, highlighting its role in navigating complex — and sometimes conflicting — obligations.

Article

Shuhui Wang, Hirindu Kawshala

Shuhui Wang and Hirindu Kawshala analyze more than 14,000 earnings call transcripts to examine how CEO overconfidence impacts firm complexity. They find that overconfident CEOs tend to reduce complexity, often at the cost of long-term alignment, as illustrated by John Flannery’s short tenure at General Electric. Their study underscores the importance of aligning CEO traits with a firm’s strategic and operational needs, particularly during leadership transitions. Boards must discern whether simplification efforts reflect sound strategy or risky overconfidence.

Article

Siah Hwee Ang

Siah Hwee Ang calls for a shift in how executives engage with boards — not just as monitors or advisers but as long-term strategic assets. He advocates for structures that tap into directors’ expertise through agenda setting, follow-ups, and subcommittees. Boards’ hard skills can be institutionalized via staggered succession, while soft skills can be preserved by documenting decision-making processes. Regular engagement is key, with boards contributing to short-, medium-, and long-term strategic discussions.

Article

Filip Lestan, Ruy de Quadros Carvalho

Filip Lestan and Ruy de Quadros Carvalho analyze 249 Brazilian firms to assess how board structure influences innovation governance. They found that forming innovation-related committees is far more impactful than vision statements or rhetoric, enabling boards to ask better questions and oversee complex initiatives. Larger boards are more likely to form such committees, while CEO duality and director busyness significantly reduce the likelihood. The article concludes with four actionable steps to strengthen innovation governance through board design.

Article

David Larcker, Amit Seru, Brian Tayan, Laurie Yoler

David F. Larcker, Amit Seru, Brian Tayan, and Laurie Yoler explore how AI could reshape boardrooms by enhancing the volume, quality, and timeliness of information available to directors. AI can reduce information asymmetry, support predictive analysis, and enable real-time scenario planning. These tools help boards become more proactive and better prepared for meetings. However, the authors caution that greater access to information may blur the line between governance and operations, requiring executives to manage directors’ deeper involvement carefully.

Article

Mirko Benischke

This issue of Amplify invites a reexamination of what makes boards truly effective. It features a collection of articles that explore how boards can evolve beyond conventional roles to become active stewards of long-term value — drawing on leader character, data and analytics, behavioral insight, structural design, and strategic engagement.

Article

Alessia Falsarone

Alessia Falsarone examines the evolving role of lead independent directors (LIDs), offering a five-part framework to assess when and how to appoint them. Although LIDs can strengthen board independence and communication, their function varies by context. In firms where the CEO also chairs the board, LIDs often serve as a bridge to management and stakeholders. In other cases, they foster open dialogue on issues like ESG and AI ethics. Falsarone illustrates this with examples, including Coca-Cola’s LID leading efforts in transparency and sustainability amid activist pressure.

Advisor

Francesco Marsella, Ralf Baron, Petter Kilefors, Maximilian Scherr

Many organizations are stuck in pilot mode, using AI for incremental gains rather than transformative impact. This Advisor, based on ADL’s recent CEO Insights study, calls for a shift toward enterprise-wide adoption, strategic alignment, and long-term vision to fully capture AI’s disruptive potential and stay ahead of emerging competitors.

Advisor

Christian Busch, Nele Marie Terveen

As organizations pursue purpose-driven goals, true leadership requires more than bold statements — it demands rigorous measurement of real-world impact. This means shifting from tracking inputs to evaluating tangible outcomes, acknowledging unintended consequences, and staying adaptable in the face of uncertainty. As this Advisor explores, effective leaders build systems that capture both direct and ripple effects of their actions, enabling smarter decisions and more resilient strategies.

Advisor

Francesco Marsella, Ralf Baron, Petter Kilefors, Maximilian Scherr

In the face of growing scrutiny and shifting expectations around ESG, this Advisor provides CEOs with a focused roadmap to enhance the strategic value of their ESG initiatives. Drawing from ADL’s recent CEO Insights study, it outlines four key actions and highlights three opportunity areas where businesses can drive both impact and performance.

Advisor

Joseph Byrum

The convergence of quantum computing and AI marks a transformative leap for business, redefining how organizations process information, generate insights, and innovate. This fusion unlocks scalable efficiency, sustainable computing, and advanced analytics — enabling real-time decision-making, deeper customer understanding, and accelerated R&D. As these technologies mature, they promise to reshape business capabilities across industries.