The practice

Decision governance for boards and CEOs adopting AI

Boards are being asked to oversee AI they did not commission. The questions that decide whether it works are about authority: who decides, who answers when it goes wrong, and what the board sees before it has to.

Jay Hawkinson works with directors and CEOs to settle those questions before they are tested. He has built and led data and AI organizations inside industrial and consumer companies, and holds NACD Directorship Certification (NACD.DC), the NACD AI Oversight Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College, and the NACD CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight.

Three ways to work together

Board and CEO Advisory

Ongoing, confidential counsel to a board, a committee chair or the CEO on the decisions AI now touches.

Decision rights for AI-influenced decisions, and who can stop one
Board reporting and escalation: what reaches the board, and when
Preparation for diligence, audit or regulatory questions
A sounding board before a decision goes to the full board

Monthly, scoped to the board’s calendar

Board AI Sanity Check

For a board or committee that needs a clear read on AI oversight before its next meeting. A 45-minute confidential session, followed by a one-page memo covering where AI already shapes decisions the board is accountable for, whether ownership and escalation are clear, and what to ask management.

45 minutes, remote, with a one-page memo

Board and leadership briefings

Sessions that give a board, a leadership team or an association a working grasp of AI accountability in one sitting.

Formats: board or committee education sessions, leadership team sessions, and association, chapter and conference talks
Topics: Who owns the decision? AI accountability for directors. What a buyer’s diligence team will ask about your AI. The regulatory horizon for AI, in one hour.

Request the board briefing, October 2026 edition

In person across the Southeast, including Upstate South Carolina, Charlotte and Atlanta, and virtual elsewhere

How an engagement begins

Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation: what the board needs to answer, by when, and whether outside help is the right answer. When it is not, you will hear that in the first call.

Start a Confidential Conversation

Moving from governance to execution?

VTCDO, Jay’s practice for operating executives, covers fractional Chief Data and AI Officer work, AI diligence readiness for PE-backed companies, and the decision tools behind them. Visit vtcdo.com