10x Your Impact – How the Smartest Directors Are Using AI

Why embracing AI is no longer optional for high-performing boards

As the pace of change accelerates, time becomes an increasingly scarce resource in the boardroom. In this episode of the Better Boards podcast, we speak with Jamie Green, Co-Founder and CEO of Tutaki, the Director Workbench designed to make board directors radically more effective. Drawing on his experience at McKinsey and hundreds of conversations with Chairs, directors, and governance leaders, Jamie built Tutaki to transform how board members prepare, engage, and act. With a background in strategy, governance, and AI product design, he’s leading a new era of “augmented directorship.” In this conversation, Jamie outlines how the best boards are using AI not just to cope—but to lead.

“Directors are the amplifiers, and it’s really key that their whole process works effectively to actually get the best out of it.”

At its core, a board’s role is to make strategic decisions that create value. Yet when overloaded with dense materials and administrative noise, even seasoned directors can find their effectiveness diminished. Jamie argues that the most effective boards focus their attention strategically, with company secretaries ensuring that decision-critical information flows effortlessly. AI has a natural fit here—supporting smarter, faster, more informed decisions.

“If you blanket rule, ‘you can’t use AI,’ and your competitors do, they’ll make faster, more accurate decisions—and leave you behind.”

Despite the excitement around AI, many boards remain hesitant. According to Jamie, the barriers fall into three categories: lack of understanding, concerns about data privacy, and over-reliance. While AI can hallucinate or produce flawed outputs, those risks can be managed with guardrails. The greater risk is inertia.

“Imagine if you had Warren Buffett sitting there analysing the financials. That’s the power of AI.”

Jamie outlines four phases in the boardroom’s AI journey: using AI to analyse, then automate, then support director decision-making, and finally, the idea of AI boards—tools that can simulate board-level input for small businesses or CEOs needing quick insights. While the idea of AI boards is provocative, he believes we may see functional versions within five years.

“They’ve got their Warren Buffett for financials… It raises things or flags things they would have entirely missed.”

Directors are increasingly using AI in three ways: to save time by synthesizing reports and summarizing board materials, to expand their knowledge in domains outside their expertise, and to manage workflows such as scheduling, agenda setting, and minute taking. When used correctly, AI enhances a director’s ability to prepare more thoroughly and contribute more meaningfully.

“Not using AI is the riskiest option… The best directors are going to be AI-literate.”

The best way to begin? Use AI to generate prompts for itself. Frame the question with context—your industry, your goals, your role—and ask AI how it can help. Start experimenting, even on simple tasks. The technology rewards curiosity and clarity.

The three top takeaways for effective boards from our conversation are:

• Not using AI is the greatest risk – Blanket bans stifle strategic agility. Guardrails, not bans, are the answer.
• The best boards are already using it – Often quietly, but consistently, to support high-quality decision-making.
• Specialized tools are the future – Look for vertical AI solutions that solve real governance problems.

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