AAI: Romanian companies' competitiveness increasingly hinges on boards' geopolitical, technology expertise

Geopolitical and technological transformations will redefine corporate competitiveness over the next decade, while boards of directors will need new skills to anticipate change and adapt business strategies, the Association of Independent Directors (AAI) said in a press release sent on Tuesday.In this context, in-depth knowledge of areas such as geopolitics, technology and artificial intelligence is becoming essential to companies' development and resilience. This trend is highlighted by the European Corporate Governance Barometer 2026, produced by ecoDa together with Ethics & Boards, which shows that European boards of directors have made significant progress in terms of independence and diversity, but continue to lag behind their US counterparts in expertise related to geopolitics and technology, areas that will influence corporate competitiveness over the next decade, according to AAI."Corporate competitiveness will increasingly depend on boards' ability to understand geopolitical and technological transformations and integrate them into strategic decisions. While corporate governance discussions have so far focused on independence, diversity and compliance, the next stage is to build boards capable of anticipating change. From AAI's perspective, in addition to financial, legal and operational expertise, boards need expertise in geopolitics, technology and artificial intelligence, as well as public policy," AAI President Alina Prahoveanu said, according to the press release.For Romania, these trends represent both challenges and opportunities, AAI says. Its proximity to Ukraine, its strategic position on the Black Sea, the new European policy of strengthening defence capabilities and global technological competition are creating opportunities for sectors such as defence, energy, critical infrastructure, logistics, agriculture, information technology and cybersecurity.From AAI's perspective, capitalising on these opportunities will depend on companies' ability to integrate these transformations into their development strategies, which in turn depends on boards' ability to anticipate and respond to an ever-changing economic and geopolitical environment."Geopolitical expertise at board level does not mean analysing international politics, but rather the ability to assess the impact of global developments on a company: country risks, legislative and regulatory changes, supply chain security, critical dependencies on resources and technologies, access to markets and financing, and reputational risks. The Draghi Report has brought competitiveness back to the centre of the European agenda. At company level, this challenge translates into the need for 'fit-for-purpose boards' - boards with skills relevant to the challenges and risks specific to the company's industry, business model and strategic direction," AAI representatives said.At the same time, AAI warns that the adoption of critical technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, must also be assessed in terms of dependence on external suppliers and its impact on long-term competitiveness. At a time when the most advanced AI ecosystems are being developed mainly in the United States and China, technological resilience is becoming an important component of business strategy.Against the new economic and geopolitical backdrop, AAI has also issued a series of recommendations, including establishing "fit-for-purpose boards" tailored to the company's industry and strategy and strengthened with expertise in geopolitics, technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, risk management and public policy; integrating geopolitical scenarios into strategic planning so that investment and development decisions take account of regional and global developments, including supply-chain risks, legislative changes, critical dependencies on resources and technology, and reputational risks; and strengthening board succession planning by regularly assessing existing skills and those that will be needed in the coming years, depending on the company's development and the economic and geopolitical environment.Other recommendations include increasing the proportion of strategic discussions in board activities, including through regular crisis-scenario simulations and testing the organisation's ability to respond to major changes, as well as continuously developing board members' skills, given that serving as a director requires a different skill set from that of a high-performing executive.The Association of Independent Directors (AAI) brings together more than 150 professionals with experience in corporate governance structures in Romania.