For Enterprises For non-executive and supervisory directors

Governing AI for Boards

A day and a half for non-executive directors and supervisory board members: what AI changes, how to judge its risks, and what to ask management for. Directors leave with oversight tools they have agreed together.

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Enterprise · For Non-Executives
Duration
1.5 days
Who takes part
Non-executive and supervisory board members
Where
Your boardroom, a venue of your choice, or on campus
Back to overview
Why it matters

Oversight is the board’s duty

AI decisions now carry strategic, legal and reputational weight. Directors are expected to oversee them without taking over management’s role. That takes a shared understanding of AI, a practical way to judge its risks, and regular reports that show where AI is used, what it delivers and what could go wrong.

Boards and AI 66%

of board members and executives say their board has limited or no knowledge of AI.

Not on the agenda 31%

say AI is not yet on their board’s agenda.

AI high performers 6%

of companies attribute at least 5% of operating profit (EBIT) to AI.

How directors look at AI

What directors oversee

  • ValueIs AI spending creating value against plan?
  • Risk and complianceWhere is AI used, how risky is it, and do the controls work?
  • PeopleWho is affected, and how does the company support them?
  • Reputation and valuesDoes the way the company uses AI fit what it stands for?
The program

Day by day for the board

Before the program, directors receive a short primer and six readiness questions, and we speak with the chair about the board’s concerns and review current AI activity and the risk register. Because the directors take part, the oversight charter, risk appetite and dashboard are agreed in the room.

Duration
1.5 days
Who takes part
Non-executive and supervisory board members
Preparation
A short primer and a conversation with the chair
Where
Your boardroom, a venue of your choice, or on campus
  1. Day 1 Understanding AI, oversight and risk Output Shared AI vocabulary; draft oversight charter and risk appetite
  2. Day 2, half day Reporting and board agenda Output Dashboard design, annual AI agenda, question set
What you take home
  • AI oversight charterWhat the board decides, what its committees cover, and what is brought to it
  • Risk appetiteWhat the company will not do, does with controls, or leaves to management
  • AI dashboardThe regular AI reports the board will ask for, and when an issue must be brought to it
  • Annual AI agendaStrategy review, risk review, independent review of controls and director education
  • Question setThe questions directors ask at each management review
  • Shared understandingA common vocabulary on AI across the board
  1. 01PreparationInterviews and reading, so the program starts from your own situation
  2. 02LearnShort faculty input on one part of the strategy or of oversight
  3. 03PracticeThe step is tried first on a teaching case
  4. 04ApplyYour team or board applies it to your own company
  5. 05Follow-upAn optional review once the first results are in

Every program is adapted to your industry, size and governance before it starts.

Tools the board builds

Risk tiers and the dashboard

Rating AI uses by impact
  1. Not allowedUses the company has ruled out
  2. Board attentionHigh impact on customers, people, money or safety
  3. Controls and monitoringHuman review, testing and regular checks
  4. Left to managementLow impact, standard rules apply
What the AI dashboard can showIllustrative
  • Value against plan
  • Adoption
  • AI uses by risk tier
  • Incidents
  • Compliance actions
  • People and skills
Annual AI agenda for the board
  1. First quarterStrategy and investment review
  2. Second quarterRisk review and list of AI uses
  3. Third quarterIndependent review of key controls
  4. Fourth quarterDirector education and next year’s priorities

Who takes part

  • Non-executive directorsOn one-tier boards, where executives and non-executives sit together
  • Supervisory board membersIn two-tier systems, where they oversee a separate management board
  • CEO and CFOCan join the close to receive the board’s reporting requests
Senior management

Should management take part?

This program is for directors only, so they can speak freely about their own role. The CEO and CFO can join the close to hear which reports the board will ask for. When executives and directors should build their understanding together, choose the integrated program. When department heads should join, they do so in the executive program with senior management.

Strengths
  • Directors speak freely about their own role and concerns
  • A clear line between oversight and management
  • The CEO and CFO still hear the board’s reporting requests
Trade-offs
  • Management does not see how directors reached their view
  • Board and management align later, in the boardroom
For Executives and Non-Executives Board-Aligned AI Strategy 3.5 days Executives + Department Heads AI Strategy Carried by All 4 days
EU AI Act

Key dates for boards

Dates as amended in 2026 by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. Which rules apply depends on how your company uses AI and how risky that use is.

  1. Feb 2, 2025 Banned uses of AI

    Some uses of AI are prohibited.

    In force
  2. Aug 2, 2025 Rules for general-purpose AI

    Duties for the companies that provide general-purpose AI models.

    In force
  3. Aug 2, 2026 Most other rules

    Including telling people when they deal with AI or with content made by AI.

    In force
  4. Dec 2, 2027 High-risk uses of AI

    Such as recruitment, credit scoring and access to essential services.

    Prepare now
  5. Aug 2, 2028 AI in regulated products

    Such as medical devices, machinery and toys.

    Prepare now

The program also covers the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and ISO/IEC 42001, the international standard for AI management.

Family enterprise

The family enterprise version

In a family enterprise, AI oversight goes beyond risk and return. It touches the family name, the firm’s independence, the commitments made to long-serving staff, and the balance between investment and dividends. The board also answers to owners outside the boardroom, such as the family council and trusts. The family version adds half a day on ownership and continuity, and prepares directors to explain AI to the family. The family council chair can join the second day.

Governing AI for Family Enterprise Boards Family and independent directors learn to oversee AI in the owners’ long-term interest, and to explain it to the family. 2 days
Also on campus in New YorkEvery program can run at your company or in your boardroom, or on campus at Columbia Business School, where our founder teaches AI. About the campus option →

Questions directors ask

  • Do directors need technical knowledge?

    No. Directors learn what AI can and cannot do, and how it fails, in plain business terms. They also try an AI assistant on a set of meeting papers.

  • Does the program cover the EU AI Act?

    Yes, together with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and ISO/IEC 42001. We check which rules apply to your company before the program.

  • Is this for supervisory boards too?

    Yes. The program works for non-executive directors on one-tier boards and for supervisory board members in two-tier systems.

  • What happens after the program?

    An optional review after the first quarterly AI report, to test whether the dashboard gives the board what it needs.

Ask us → For Enterprises →

Plan your board’s program

A first conversation with the chair about your board and where it stands on AI.

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