"The job [of a board leader] has gotten bigger while the paycheck hasn't changed," said Ryan Hourihan, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

One way to get more straightforward feedback about the challenges of AI transformation, and therefore the timeline for return on investments, is to ask executives what the company needs to deprioritize in order to make space for the work that it takes to implement AI effectively, said Brad Jayne, a principal consultant at Pearl Meyer.

“If they’re attractive CEO successors for you, they’re also attractive CEO successors for other banks,” Managing Director Ed Steinhoff said.

Just 35% of companies made the same disclosure in 2025 and among early 2026 proxy filers reviewed by Pearl Meyer, less than 10% carried a diversity goal in their incentive plan.

CEOs and boards are missing key points of misalignment with other C-suite leaders, a new report from Pearl Meyer suggests.

The article explores a key disconnect uncovered by Pearl Meyer’s research: as organizations accelerate their investments in artificial intelligence, leadership teams are not always aligned on who owns AI strategy, how prepared their organizations are for implementation, or how much change their people can absorb.

For a typical independent director, [boards] are generally trying to accomplish a few things through compensation: Recognize the time and responsibility associated with board service, attract and retain qualified directors, and create alignment with shareholders," wrote Ryan Hourihan, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

According to research from the compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer, 80% of companies use job titles to describe where employees sit in the corporate hierarchy.

Pearl Meyer has welcomed Emily Daughters as its new Chief People Officer, which comes as the firm continues to invest in its own leadership bench following Jayson Traxler's Q1 2026 appointment as CEO.

“There’s an existential risk to the company if something happens to the CEO or part of the executive team,” Shah said. Many perks these days, he said, are “really necessary to run the business in the most effective way.”

Compensation strategies can change as a result of priorities. When executives are brought in to make changes, their incentives packages may then need to be realigned with the revamped organization’s new goals, Alexander Yaffe said.

Tim Dupuis, principal at Pearl Meyer, sees company boards as being locked in on doing the right thing when it comes to executive pay.