Good governance and the non-executive director: The Centre for Financial Technology's 2026 conference

This year's Centre for Financial Technology's annual event explored the role played by non-executive directors in today鈥檚 complex business environment

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Professor of Practice Naveed Sultan at the Centre for Financial Technology's 2026 annual conference

"Good governance is not about controlling the business. It鈥檚 about enabling it to thrive safely."聽

This was the closing thought at Imperial Business School's聽Centre for Financial Technology聽event, "The role of non-executive directors in today鈥檚 complex climate鈥, held on 2 June.

Key takeaways from the conference included:

  • The non-executive director role has fundamentally shifted. It鈥檚 no longer enough to be a specialist who stays in their lane. Boards now operate under tougher regulatory scrutiny from the Financial Reporting Council, face聽International Financial Reporting Standards-related聽reporting expectations, carry ESG accountability, and must navigate cyber security and data governance responsibilities 鈥 all while answering to a much broader stakeholder base spanning employees, communities, regulators, customers and investors.
  • The most in-demand capabilities reflect this complexity: digital and AI literacy, ESG and sustainability expertise, financial acumen, cyber-risk understanding, international experience, and聽regulatory affairs knowledge. Organisations aren鈥檛 just looking for subject matter experts, they鈥檙e looking for people who can connect the dots across the business.
  • Governance should be a catalyst for growth, not a control mechanism. The best non-executive directors聽are those who co-create with executive teams, bringing independent judgement, cross-sector pattern recognition, networks, market intelligence, and credibility with investors, lenders聽and public markets. A board that embeds governance into its culture isn鈥檛 slowing the business down,聽it鈥檚 building the architecture that lets it move fast, safely.
  • The case for diversity was made commercially, not symbolically. Diverse boards bring consumer perspective, reduce groupthink, strengthen risk instincts, and improve employee trust 鈥 and per McKinsey鈥檚 Diversity Matters report, generate over 25 per cent聽higher profitability. Lived experience on a board isn鈥檛 a nice-to-have, it鈥檚 a performance advantage.
  • Real-world examples brought this to life. Effective governance was illustrated through GSK鈥檚 Haleon spin-off and National Grid鈥檚 early identification of financing risks. In contrast, Carillion, Boohoo, and Thomas Cook served as cautionary tales 鈥 where weak challenge, poor oversight, and inadequate due diligence led to serious consequences.
  • Organisational resilience also featured prominently. Non-executive directors are expected to support stress testing, scenario planning, culture oversight聽and succession planning,聽particularly in an environment shaped by geopolitical instability, AI and automation, climate transition, supply chain fragility, and reputational risk.

The closing message was clear: the best non-executive directors are curious, courageous, current, and commercially useful. They are strategic partners and risk guardians, not just compliance overseers.

, Co-Director of the Centre for Financial Technology and a globally recognised international banker, advisor and entrepreneur, hosted the conference alongside聽 distinguished panellists Myra Waiman, founder and CEO of Infi-tex, a pioneering company in smart sensor technology,聽and聽Dhosjan Greenaway-Dalini, a finance leader, board member and Imperial Business School alumnus.