Boards are experienced. So why do CEOs still feel at sea?
April 10, 2026
Boards are experienced. So why do CEOs still feel at sea?
In uncertain and disrupted times, boardroom discussions are expected to evolve. Most boards today are composed of highly experienced individuals—former CEOs, financial experts, operators with impressive track records.
And yet, many CEOs feel increasingly overwhelmed.
Recent data highlights a striking contradiction:
- 87% of CEOs believe their boards and investors have the right knowledge to handle disruption
- Yet 72% struggle to set priorities
- And 85% say they need more support
So what’s missing?
The missing expertise no one talks about
When communications and reputation are not embedded at the decision-making level, a structural blind spot emerges.
Business decisions are made in isolation from stakeholder perception.
The result?
- Announcements that land poorly with investors
- Client communication that creates unintended consequences
- Internal messaging that undermines trust
- Strategic decisions that trigger avoidable reputational risk
This is not a failure of intelligence.
It is a failure of perspective.
The trust gap inside organisations
There is another, less visible issue.
In many organisations, communications is still seen as an execution function—not a strategic discipline. As a result:
- In-house communications leaders are not always fully trusted or empowered
- CEOs do not (consistently) encourage meaningful “pushback”
- Critical reputational risks are identified—but not always acted upon
As many spokespersons will agree with me:
“CEOs still ask for a press release. They don't consider how business decisions or client communication will impact the broader stakeholder group and the company’s reputation.”
This disconnect has existed for years—and it continues to limit the effectiveness of internal teams.
Why external perspective is increasingly essential
In disrupted environments, the stakes are higher and the margin for error is smaller.
What’s needed is not more information—but a different lens.
An independent, senior-level, outside-in perspective can:
- bridge the gap between business decisions and stakeholder perception
- challenge assumptions at the right level
- translate complexity into clear, strategic communication choices
- ensure reputational impact is considered before decisions are finalised
Not as an add-on.
But as part of the decision-making process itself.
From communication to judgement
This is ultimately not (only) about communication.
It is about judgement.
- What should be said
- What should not be said
- When to act
- When to hold back
- How decisions will be interpreted—not just intended
These are board-level considerations. Yet they are rarely treated as such.
Where I come in
As an independent senior advisor, I work at the intersection of:
- business decisions
- stakeholder perception
- and reputational impact
I support CEOs, boards, and communications leaders by providing:
Reputation oversight – identifying risks when reputational impact is underestimated
Strategic communication guidance – shaping what to say, how, and when
Direct, honest feedback – challenging assumptions and strengthening decision-making
My role is not to replace internal teams—but to strengthen them, particularly in high-stakes or complex situations.
Support can be:
- a few hours of focused input
- interim involvement
- or part of a broader, more complex project through trusted partnerships
A final thought
Boards are highly experienced. But experience alone is no longer enough.
In a world where perception moves markets, shapes trust, and defines long-term value, the question is no longer whether communications matters.
The real question is:
Who, at the table, is responsible for understanding its impact?
Source:
Boards need to rethink how they advise CEOs
El Proyecto. Asesoramiento en marketing, ventas y comunicación para una pastelería en la cuna de Bolivia.
The Project. Marketing, sales and communications advice to a pastry shop in the birthplace of Bolivia
Una declaración anticolonial es la legitimación de Trump para el poder militar unilateral. Como me apasiona la información factual, la historia y lo veo como una de mis tareas para informar a las PYMES en Hispanoamérica sobre nuestro punto de vista (europeo) con respecto a los desarrollos recientes en la región sudamericana, en el periódico holandés The Financieele Dagblad una buena lección de historia de la historiadora Eline van Ommen, profesora asociada de Historia Internacional en la Universidad de Leeds en el Reino Unido . Ella argumenta que la grave e ilegal violación estadounidense de la soberanía de Venezuela y el arresto de Maduro no tiene precedentes, incluso en la historia de las intervenciones estadounidenses en América Latina. La intervención anterior en la región fue en 1989 , cuando Estados Unidos invadió Panamá, lo que provocó cientos de muertes de civiles. La Doctrina Monroe de 1823 , cuando los Estados Unidos habían existido por menos de 50 años, fue una declaración de solidaridad, un discurso político en el que el quinto presidente estadounidense James Monroe pidió cooperación entre repúblicas estadounidenses soberanas y de ideas afines, incluida Venezuela, que en 1821 se independizó definitivamente de España, para mantener a raya a las monarquías europeas con ambiciones coloniales. Una declaración anticolonial que se centró en la interferencia colonial europea inaceptable en el hemisferio occidental. En ese momento, había muchas más poderosas potencias europeas. Sin embargo, en 2026 , Trump está utilizando la Doctrina Monroe como una declaración de poder estadounidense unilateral . Se dice que América Latina es el "patio trasero" de los Estados Unidos, en el que el resto del mundo no tiene negocios que interferir. Es la legitimación de Trump para la intervención militar unilateral. Leer más: https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-western-hemisphere-americas-tariffs-panama-canal/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
An anti-colonial statement is Trump’s legitimization for unilateral military power. As I am passionate about factual information, history and see it as one of my tasks to inform SMEs in Spanish America about our (European) point of view regarding recent developments in the South American region, in the Dutch Financieele Dagblad a nice history lesson from historian Eline van Ommen, associate professor of International History at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. She argues that the gross and illegal U.S. violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and arrest of Maduro is unprecedented — even in the history of U.S. interventions in Latin America. The previous intervention in the region was in 1989 , when the United States invaded Panama, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 , when the United States had been in existence for less than 50 years, was a declaration of solidarity, a political speech in which the fifth U.S. President James Monroe called for cooperation between like-minded and sovereign American republics – including Venezuela, which in 1821 became definitively independent from Spain – to keep European monarchies with colonial ambitions at bay. An anti-colonial statement that focused on European colonial interference in the Western Hemisphere being unacceptable . At that time, there were many more powerful European powers. In 2026 , however, Trump is using the Monroe Doctrine as a unilateral American declaration of power . Latin America is said to be the 'backyard' of the US, in which the rest of the world has no business interfering. It is Trump's legitimization for unilateral military intervention. More on this: https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-western-hemisphere-americas-tariffs-panama-canal/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
Your website is yours. As I look back on the projects I worked on for SMEs in Spanish America the last couple of months, there are a few subjects that all projects have in common across countries and which I will further dive into at a later stage. One subject I want to start with is the fact that companies heavily rely on social media and messaging apps for client and sales communication and why they should change this. I have explained the importance of creating (or improving) a website, being a channel that a company owns, fully deciding its design and content. The caveat is to be aware to store your website with a national cloud providor, due to the North American Cloud Act. What is the Cloud Act? It is a US federal law of 2018 (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act) that forces US technology companies to deliver data from their customers, regardless of where they are stored (including in data centres in Spanish America or Europe) if requested by US court order. The law also applies to European (and Latin American) organisations that use North American cloud services (such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon), allowing data in Europe (and Latin America) to be accessible to US authorities. What The Netherlands and Europe are doing, among other things, is creating awareness for this risk: Research has been done on the degree of dependence, and there is more awareness among governments and companies.
Su sitio web es suyo. Al mirar hacia atrás en los proyectos en los que trabajé para las PYMES en Hispano América en los últimos meses, hay algunos temas que todos los proyectos tienen en común entre países y en los que profundizaré en una etapa posterior. Un tema con el que quiero comenzar es el hecho de que las empresas dependen en gran medida de las redes sociales y las aplicaciones de mensajería para la comunicación con el cliente y las ventas y por qué deberían cambiar esto. He explicado la importancia de crear (o mejorar) un sitio web, siendo un canal que una empresa posee, decidiendo completamente su diseño y contenido. La advertencia es tener en cuenta que debe almacenar su sitio web con un proveedor nacional de nube, debido a la Ley de Nube de América del Norte. ¿Qué es la Ley de la Nube? Es una ley federal de los Estados Unidos de 2018 (Aclarificación de la Ley de Uso Legal de Datos en el Extranjero) que obliga a las empresas tecnológicas de EE. UU. a entregar datos de sus clientes, independientemente de dónde se almacenen (incluso en centros de datos en Hispano América o Europa) si así lo solicita una orden judicial de los Estados Unidos. La ley también se aplica a las organizaciones europeas (y latinoamericanas) que utilizan servicios en la nube de América del Norte (como Microsoft, Google, Amazon), lo que permite que los datos en Europa (y América Latina) sean accesibles para las autoridades estadounidenses. Lo que los Países Bajos y Europa están haciendo, entre otras cosas, es crear conciencia sobre este riesgo: se ha investigado sobre el grado de dependencia, y hay más conciencia entre los gobiernos y las empresas.
El Proyecto. Profesionalización de la función de marketing de un crematorio para mascotas en el eje cafetero de Colombia
The Project. Profesionalising the Marketing function of a pet crematorium in the coffee region of Colombia
The Project. Supporting a Bolivian business in processing and selling natural Bolivian cereals to win a new client group. Bolivia Natural approached PUM to help them improve their market position and increase sales. As this is a remote project, we focused on the most pressing element of their more extensive briefing, which is to help them with tapping into a new market opportunity. Due to the economic challenges Bolivia faces, spending power of the population has reduced, import prices of quality oat have risen to sky high levels and as a result, sales prices have risen quite substantially as well. The more affluent population can more or less absorb these price increases, there is a loyal clientele, but overall sales are impacted negatively for many entrepreneurs and overall there is scarcity of food and other imported products. Adapting to these circumstances is a must and innovation critical. To make up for declining sales of the company's more upmarket product offering, Bolivia Natural needs to innovate and bring a product to market for people with less spending power. As this project is still ongoing, I will update once appropriate.
The Project. A Peruvian family-owned chicken restaurant in need of marketing advice