In an exclusive interaction with Adlin Pertishya Jebaraj, correspondent of Finance Outlook Magazine, Jason Hale, Strategic Advisor at Albany Beck, provides great insight into the transformational role of board advisor and the impact on modern governance. Ranging from ESG and AI adoption to cultural change and digital oversight, the talk explores how best practices for advisory models enable organizations to be resilient and 'future-fit'.
Jason is a seasoned Strategic Advisor with Albany Beck, specializing in guiding organizations through complex transformations to achieve sustainable and cost-effective performance. With over 25 years of leadership experience at Deutsche Bank across transformation, finance, and technology, he brings deep global and India-specific expertise in building high-performing teams and scalable business platforms.
What are the evolving trends that you have seen in board advisory over the years (e.g., ESG, AI, regulatory pressure)?
A few years back, advisory conversations were primarily around capital efficiency, regulatory readiness, and risk management. Today, given the pace of change, market and environmental complexity, geopolitical uncertainty, and increased stakeholder expectations, the scope of board advisory is much broader. Currently, the boards are dealing with non-financial risks that have financial consequences, data ethics, ESG, culture, and operational resilience. And of course, there is also the rapid emergence of AI.
ESG, once at the edge, is now embedded into board agendas. It’s not just about disclosures or compliance; it’s about integrating sustainability into strategy and financial decisions. Similarly, AI has moved from being an innovation topic to both corporate and governance imperative. Boards are asking: how do we deploy AI responsibly, ensure explainability, and maintain control over data integrity and bias? Board advisors can offer executive insights and specialized oversight in rapidly shifting landscapes pretty much on demand. This agility allows boards to adapt quickly to both challenges and opportunities.
Regulatory expectations have also exploded. Frameworks like Basel IV/Basel III Endgame, SRP (supervisory review process) reviews and accountability regimes in banking (board effectiveness and diversity, for example) have made boards more accountable for outcomes, and not just oversight. In response, boards are engaging advisors earlier and more deeply, using them to anticipate rather than just respond to change, thereby strengthening stakeholder trust and credibility as a consequence.
What qualities do you think make an effective Board Advisor in today’s business environment?
In addition to Board advisors having specialized knowledge and subject-matter expertise, three additional qualities stand as integrity, impartiality and independence. Advisors provide unfiltered perspectives, challenge assumptions constructively and remain objective at all times. They will explain the necessity to the boards. This is extremely important in highly regulated sectors, where there can be a temptation to play it safe or avoid difficult conversations, effective advisors will challenge a board’s comfort zone.
The strategic curiosity is the ability to connect the dots between macro trends and micro realities. An advisor must understand the interplay between financial performance, regulation, data, and technology and know how each interconnects and shapes the other.
The emotional intelligence and cultural awareness are the best advisors to understand that data drives insight, but culture drives outcomes. They’re empathetic and compassionate; they listen actively, build trust, understand organizational dynamics, and can influence without authority. The best advisors also encourage inclusivity and diversity of thought.
Finally, advisors today need to be more digitally literate than ever before. You don’t need to code to understand AI, but you do need to know its implications for control frameworks and regulatory compliance. The most valuable advisors can toggle seamlessly between the technical and the human.
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Can you explain the role of a Board Advisor and the benefits of organizations using them, and why are we seeing an increasing trend of using board advisors?
A Board Advisor is an essential bridging role that introduces deep insights and external knowledge, but is not subject to the same fiduciary responsibility as a Board Director. They serve as a sounding board to the executive team and the board and frequently give counsel and subject-matter advice on aspects such as business growth, balance sheet optimization, regulatory change, digital and cultural transformation, and leadership alignment.
The growing trend in the use of board advisors is indicative of the modern environment, specifically, high rates of digitalization, complex regulations, geopolitical uncertainty, and increased stakeholder’s demands. No board can possess all the expertise it requires in-house any longer. Advisors can fill those gaps effectively, bring agility without the introduction of governance levels, and make boards think harder and govern wiser.
Beyond expertise, effective advisors strengthen the decision-making process. They are objective and impartial, battle-scarred with no hidden agenda and explain the necessity to boards. Advisors also look beyond the day-to-day, focusing on future-proofing strategies; they often mentor senior leaders and help shape both leadership and culture. Indeed, because strategy is only as strong as the culture that executes it and culture most certainly eats strategy for breakfast! The best advisors bring a balance of technical depth and human insight, ensuring decisions are sound in both principle and practice.
What are the major challenges of having external advisors within governance structures – especially in complex regulated industries?
In complex, highly regulated industries such as Energy, Pharmaceuticals, Defence, and Finance, Board advisors and Advisory boards are increasingly being used.
In financial services, the sector I am most familiar with, the governance ecosystem is already extensive. There are boards, subcommittees, regulators, internal controls, and audit frameworks. The challenge is ensuring that external advisors add value without liquid accountability. Clear scope and defined engagement models are critical.
Another challenge is information asymmetry. Advisors are often reliant on management to provide data and context. If that flow is incomplete, their ability to contribute meaningfully diminishes. Firms must strike a balance between confidentiality and transparency. Board advisors may also face conflicts of interest given other client relationships or possibly personal investments. It is essential, in regulated industries, that these conflicts are effectively managed.
In the integration challenge, advisors often lack the knowledge of a company’s culture, operational workings, and dare I say, internal politics, hindering progress and expectations of both the board and the advisor. Advisory input is most impactful when it’s part of the governance rhythm, part of the culture, and not just an add-on. I’ve seen the best results where advisors sit within specialized subcommittees (risk, technology, or transformation) with defined mandates and access to the right information, the right people and the right metrics.
Good governance, in my opinion, is about effective transparency, communication and culture. If people understand the scope of their roles and trust each other’s intent, complex structures can function effectively, if not seamlessly!
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As companies increasingly face digital disruption, global competition, and rapid change, how do you see the role of advisory boards evolving over the next 5–10 years?
Over the next 5-10 years, the role of advisory boards and board advisors will evolve into continuous intelligence networks. The pace of change, the inevitable continuation of geopolitical and environmental uncertainty, will no longer allow for occasional or periodic advice. ESG is not going away, likewise digital disruption, thus advisors will work in an ongoing rhythm with executive teams, offering perspectives and guidance on emerging risks, regulatory shifts, and technological change.
I anticipate boards seeking greater specialization, and it will tap into advisory panels on areas like AI governance, climate risk, cyber security, ESG and digitalization. Topics are too complex and specific to be handled episodically or sporadically.
The other big evolution will be in the blend of skills expected of Advisors. Naturally, you will see Advisors becoming more tech-savvy and proficient in AI, but in the future, advisors will also need to have intersectional expertise in areas such as finance, regulation, and human behavior, because challenges are no longer limited to one area. To elaborate further on human behavior, I expect advisors to play a greater role in organizational design, people and culture, and leadership coaching going forward.
In short, advisory boards will become the “early-warning systems” for organizations, helping them stay ahead of both disruption and opportunity. Boards will certainly become more adaptive and reliant on intelligent, proactive, cross-disciplined advisors.
Can you articulate the growing impact of Board Advisors on Business Success?
The growing impact of Board advisors on business success is becoming increasingly visible.
The best advisors create decision confidence. They help boards think more clearly, act more decisively, and govern more responsibly. Their impact is visible not only in financial outcomes but in the resilience of the organization, its ability to withstand shocks and adapt with purpose.
For example, I’ve seen advisors accelerate cloud adoption while maintaining compliance with evolving data residency rules; guide liquidity strategies in volatile markets; and strengthen risk cultures through better tone from the top.
Their true contribution often lies in the quality of dialogue which they enable, asking the right questions at the right moments. Furthermore, advisors are becoming more and more impactful as they help boards spot emerging risks and opportunities early, strengthen board governance and increasingly shape the organization's culture.
Ultimately, organizations that thrive are those that combine strong governance with adaptive culture. Board advisors help build that bridge (of control, innovation and strategy).
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How can Board Advisors help balance digital transformation with Governance and Control?
This is what numerous clients and organizations are struggling with at present, and one of the defining tensions of modern business is that organizations want a rapid digital transformation to stay competitive, without allowing unmanageable governance to slow it down. Digital transformation requires agility, experimentation, and speed. Governance requires consistency, control, and risk awareness. Thus, how do we balance this?
The best advisors help boards find equilibrium between the two. They bring experience from both the operational and risk sides, understanding how to modernize without losing control. For example, embedding data governance early in the transformation journey, or using control automation to strengthen, not slow innovation.
Ensuring that discussions around AI, data, and automation are framed in business terms, not just technical ones, and informing boards of the relevant risks and opportunities. Boards will introduce relevant KPIs and a measure of digital ROI, allowing boards to become more digitally capable and confident.
Transformation isn’t just about systems, it’s about accountability, ethical dent. Advisors play a critical role in helping leadership that helps organizations to transform with confidence by ensuring that innovation is strategically and culturally encouraged, and properly governed.
