For board members, this creates a profound new imperative: you can no longer confine yourselves to overseeing the existing business model. The risk of governing a company "stranded on the wrong side of the shift" has never been greater. The board's role itself must be in motion.
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The three dimensions of value in motion
1. Industries in motion: Boundaries are blurring
The lines between sectors are dissolving. Technology, climate change, and geopolitics are redrawing the competitive map. PwC's CEO Survey reveals that 44% of CEOs planning major acquisitions expect to do deals outside their existing sector. This tells us that tomorrow's competitors may not look anything like today's.
What this means for board members: You must challenge management to articulate not just how they're competing within the current industry, but how they're positioning the company as industry boundaries blur. Are you asking the right questions about adjacent markets? Are you governing with a cross-sector lens?
2. Technology in Motion: AI is reshaping everything
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future consideration—it's reshaping every function today. Yet, the survey findings are sobering: 56% of CEOs have realized neither revenue nor cost benefits from AI, and only 14% of workers use generative AI daily.
Even more telling: The top concern among surveyed CEOs is: "Are we transforming fast enough to keep up with technology, including AI?"
3. Globalization in Motion: Capital flows are being redirected
Capital flows are being redirected by geopolitics, tariffs, and new growth corridors. The globalization playbook of the last three decades is being rewritten. Meanwhile, PwC's survey shows that CEOs are planning international investments in the year ahead, tariffs uncertainty makes the terrain hard to navigate and jeopardises companies’ profit margins.
The board’s role must be in motion too
The message from PwC's research and the analysis is clear: value is in motion, and boards that remain static will govern companies left behind. Directors must evolve from guardians of the status quo to architects of transformation. In practice, this means evaluating, supporting, and constructively pushing management to:
- Expanding your strategic lens beyond traditional industry boundaries
- Demanding accountability for technology adoption and innovation execution
- Stress-testing strategy against geopolitical uncertainty
- Shifting board time from backward-looking compliance to forward-looking transformation and reinvention
- Building trust as a core governance priority
The companies that thrive in this new era will be those whose boards and management embrace this expanded mandate. The question for every director is simple but urgent: Is your governance keeping pace with the motion of value?
Call to Action: Three tangible actions for board members
1. Challenge the reinvention ambition
PwC's survey found that 50% of CEOs say innovation is central to strategy, yet only 8% have implemented a critical mass of innovation practices. This gap between aspiration and execution is a governance failure.
2. Govern for transformation, not just oversight
The data shows that dynamic companies achieve 9% revenue growth versus 7% for cautious peers. Additionally, companies generating more new-sector revenue enjoy higher profit margins and greater growth confidence
3. Adopt a through-tenure governance perspective
Trust matters. PwC's survey shows that 66% of CEOs report stakeholder trust concerns, while companies with the fewest trust concerns delivered shareholder returns nine percentage points higher
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Value in motion and why it matters for the board
