A survey we conducted of CEOs and board members in markets around the world in late spring 2025 delivers a clear message: boards that approach refreshment as a strategic, ongoing discipline are significantly more likely to report that they are well-positioned for the future—and that their companies are positioned to outperform peers over time.

We asked these leaders whether board refreshment was a priority for their board and whether they treated it as one.

• Only 28% of directors—a group we call “strategic board refreshers”—see refreshment as a strategic priority and act accordingly.
• A majority—52%—recognize its importance but allow other priorities to overshadow it.
• 19% do not see it as a priority.

Of course, these figures vary by company ownership, size, market, and even sector. Family-owned companies, by a slim margin, are most often strategic refreshers, followed by PE-backed companies and large public companies. But the group of strategic refreshers includes companies across ownership types, and across markets, sectors, and sizes.