Today’s most pressing business risks are technology risks. So why are so few CTOs on boards? When a major cyberattack brings your systems down, or your latest AI tool backfires in public, the impact isn’t just technical—it’s existential.
Despite being at the centre of growth, resilience, and reputation, technology leaders remain underrepresented at the top table. According to Harvard Business Review, directors with tech/ digital expertise are still “relatively scarce” in publicly listed companies—leaving boards exposed to blind spots at the worst possible time.
It’s time for a rethink. Appointing more CTOs to boards isn’t just about diversity of perspective—it’s the next phase of good governance.
Here’s how those at the top table can bridge the gap:
Rethinking CTO governance
In a global study last year by Heidrick & Struggles, less than half of CTOs and CIOs said they were confident in their board’s digital knowledge or expertise – this figure was 40% for UK respondents. Strikingly, UK tech leaders were also the least likely to sit on corporate or advisory boards.
This tells us two things: first, UK companies face a particularly urgent need to strengthen digital literacy at the top table. Second, if businesses want to retain senior tech talent, they must foster a culture where these leaders are heard, valued, and given meaningful influence over strategic direction.
Tech innovation – as a given, not an extra – is key to both goals. Gone are the days where CTOs acted in silo to wider business success, managing back-room systems. Today, they are “strategic visionaries”, with the remit of “guiding companies toward future growth through cutting-edge technologies.”
The best C-suites will acknowledge this status, treating tech as a central driver of company resilience and reputation. In this model of governance, operations and innovation aren’t opposing forces to be balanced, but a productive tension to be embraced. That tension is essential to future development.
CTOs must master the art of storytelling
CTOs have their part to play in the equation. Under mounting pressure, less than half of technology execs say they’re completely prepared to support new business models, and 79% have experienced roadblocks in delivery (PwC Pulse). Within this picture, technology leaders are often out of sync with stakeholders. For example, only 40% of board members view a lack of consumer trust in new tech-enabled products as a serious risk, compared to 61% of CIOs. The survey identified similar disconnects around how boards and CIOs read tech’s relationship to company culture, employee fears and planning cycles.
The solution? CTOs must add “powerful storyteller” to their formidable list of skills. Rather than dumbing down the many complexities of tech, their job is to translate it into business value. The aim is to become fluent in talking about nuances (for example, mixed-modality AI, or security training) within the context of overall business strategy and influence. This will help mitigate the wild west-style world of tech integrations, where perceptions and expectations are easily confused.
Culture as infrastructure
Transformational change requires individuals to behave differently, which is why companies fail at it a massive 70% of the time (McKinsey). How come? A commitment to tech innovation means so much more than giving CTOs their place at the board table. With change so hard to achieve, it’s unrealistic to suggest that CTOs can merely “roll out” transformations, especially with pivots that are often huge and unprecedented. Along with a leading voice at the top table, CTOs need the support of a strong cultural environment.
Burnout rates are currently soaring for CTOs, while stress ranks as the biggest killer of creative work, disrupting the brain networks that support idea generation, focus and refinement. When it comes to fostering innovation, the status quo is not enough. Instead, leadership teams must embed what Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson describes as “team psychological safety”.
Namely, creating an environment where it’s easy to experiment and take risks, and asking for help is encouraged. A strategic asset, this type of organisational culture enables employees to feel valued, as mistakes become learning opportunities. Because, inevitably, mistakes will be made. But the bigger challenges – from mass-scale cyberattacks to AI scandals – arise from strategic misalignment.
This intense period of digital progression is driving a wave of complex, cross-cutting corporate decisions—challenges that don’t sit neatly within traditional departmental boundaries. The C-suite must respond by giving CTOs a genuine platform and voice. In doing so, the balance of influence will begin to shift toward those with the deepest technical insight into today’s most pressing challenges.
At the same time, the turbulence most organisations are experiencing right now requires a new type of culture – one governed by respect, listening and the freedom to speak up. Tech leaders can direct this shift to harness innovation that lasts beyond the change itself. Giving CTOs a seat at the top table isn’t optional—it’s a strategic imperative for future-proofing business.
