NACD Directors Summit® 2026
5 Reasons to Attend NACD Directors Summit 2026
See what’s ahead at the gathering built for today’s board leaders.
5 Reasons Directors Choose NACD Directors Summit®
The issues facing boards are becoming more interconnected. AI is changing how companies operate and make decisions. Technology is reshaping risk. Private and family-owned companies are navigating their own governance complexities. Activism and geopolitical shifts can quickly change the strategic landscape.
At NACD Directors Summit® 2026, these issues are woven throughout the program, with directors, executives, investors, and governance experts bringing different perspectives to the questions that matter most in the boardroom.
Here are five reasons to make Summit part of your plans this October.
1. AI Oversight Is Becoming a Boardroom Responsibility
For directors, the questions around AI are becoming more specific. How is management using AI? Where are the risks? What oversight is needed as AI becomes part of everyday operations and decision-making?
Summit brings those questions into focus.
Grant Thornton’s two-part session gives directors a framework for AI accountability and oversight. “When AI Becomes the Actor: Oversight in the Agentic Era” examines what happens when AI systems begin making decisions and taking action with less human intervention. “From Pilot to P&L: How Boards Evaluate the Real ROI of AI” looks at how boards can assess whether AI investments are delivering meaningful business value.
The agenda also examines the move from experimentation to broader enterprise impact, including “From AI Experimentation to Enterprise Impact.”
For directors, these sessions offer practical perspective on the questions to bring to management as AI becomes more deeply embedded in the business.
2. Technology Oversight Is Expanding
Technology oversight now reaches well beyond cybersecurity. Boards are being asked to understand how emerging technologies affect strategy, risk, resilience, and the business itself.
Summit’s technology programming gives directors several ways to examine that shift.
“Traits of a Tech Driven Board: Governing at the Speed of Change in the AI Era” explores the capabilities boards need as technology becomes more central to business strategy. “Cybersecurity at Machine Speed: What Boards Must Prioritize Now” looks at the changing nature of cyber risk and the priorities directors should be considering.
The agenda also looks further ahead, with multiple sessions on quantum computing and its implications for cybersecurity and encryption.
Together, these sessions give directors an opportunity to consider how their own boards are approaching technology oversight and where there may be room to strengthen it.
3. Private and Family Company Governance Gets a Deeper Look
Governance practices that work for a public company do not always translate to a private or family-owned business. Ownership structure, succession, board composition, and long-term strategy can all shape the board’s priorities.
Summit’s Private Company Governance programming addresses those realities directly.
In “Wiley: Pivoting a 200+ Year Legacy,” directors will hear how a publicly listed, family-controlled company approached a major strategic pivot, refreshed its board with AI- and data-savvy directors, and evolved a 200-year-old institution while maintaining its identity.
“Big Changes, Big Opportunities: Managing a Private Company Board Refresh” looks at the decisions involved in evolving a private company board. “Beyond the Playbook: Tailoring Private Company Governance Across Ownership Model” examines how governance approaches can differ across ownership structures.
Other sessions explore family business governance, succession, disruption readiness, and putting governance policies into practice.
For directors serving on private and family company boards, it is an opportunity to compare experiences and approaches with peers facing many of the same questions.
4. Directors Can Pressure-Test Their Thinking on Risk
A geopolitical development, activist campaign, or potential acquisition can change the boardroom agenda quickly. Summit gives directors an opportunity to examine these situations and consider how they might respond.
Mainstage opens with a look at the recently released Blue Ribbon Commission report, and how geopolitical forces are affecting business and governance.
The activism conversation brings together two perspectives rarely heard side by side. Jesse Cohn of Elliott Investment Management joins Bob Calderoni, former Citrix CEO and current chair of KLA Corporation, for a discussion informed by experience on both sides of an activist engagement.
Directors can then put their thinking into practice through “Pressure Campaigns: Navigating Activist Shareholder Demands to Sell the Company - An Interactive Simulation.”
And “The Resilient Board: Navigating Activist Threats, ‘Active’ Shareholders, and Industry Shocks” examines how boards can respond when pressure comes from shareholders or unexpected industry disruption.
These sessions give directors the opportunity to think through challenging scenarios before they arrive in their own boardrooms.
5. The Value of Summit Extends Beyond the Agenda
The agenda is only part of the Summit experience.
Mainstage speakers including Larry Selzer, Chair, Leading Harvest; Board Member, Weyerhaeuser; and Mark Weinberger, former global CEO of EY and a director at Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan, and Aramco, bring perspectives shaped by years of leadership in business, regulation, and the boardroom.
Throughout the four days, directors will also have opportunities to connect with peers between sessions and at the Insight Hub, which will feature live author Q&As, a BoardVisionTM podcast recording, and other experiences.
NACD Directorship Certified® directors can connect with fellow certified directors, receive recognition on-site, and earn up to 17 recertification credits.
Summit gives directors time to hear new perspectives, test their thinking with peers, and bring practical ideas back to the boardroom.
Secure Your Spot
NACD Directors Summit® 2026 on October 11-14, in the Washington, DC area, brings directors together to examine what is changing, challenge their thinking, and prepare for what comes next.