Samantha Kappagoda and Ekta Singh-Bushell co-authored the article Do Boards Need “AI Expert” Directors? in Directors & Boards magazine. The article focused on why AI fluency on boards is no longer sufficient, and how boards must rethink expertise, risk oversight and composition in the age of generative AI. In addition, it included the point of view of Jane Edison Stevenson, Global Vice Chair and head of Korn Ferry’s Global Board and CEO Succession Practice. To read the article, please visit Directors & Boards website here.
Samantha Kappagoda’s Contribution to this Article
This co-authored article in Directors & Boards represents the practical synthesis of Samantha’s operating experience as a data scientist and her governance experience as a sitting independent director. Her contribution addresses a question that nominating committees are confronting directly: what does meaningful AI expertise at the board level actually require, and how should it inform director recruitment, board composition, and risk oversight practices regarding generative AI. The article’s alignment with a Korn Ferry board search perspective underscores its relevance as a reference point for governance practitioners and search firms.
Previously, Samantha authored Board Governance of AI and Emerging Technologies in Directors & Boards, served as a panelist on Inhuman Capital: AI, the Workplace and the Board, at Character of the Corporation, and was recognized as a Director to Watch by Directors & Boards. Directors & Boards is a leading publication focused on corporate governance and board-management best practices. MLR Media, the publisher of Directors & Boards, provides public and private company directors, leaders and owners of multi-generational family businesses and C-suite executives with knowledge and skills to be successful in their roles.
About Samantha Kappagoda
Samantha Kappagoda is a board director and technology strategist who brings a distinctive blend of capital markets judgment, AI governance and data strategy expertise to complex, regulated environments. Her boardroom perspective leverages her operating experience — in data, analytics and technology — to navigate emerging opportunities, drive value and mitigate risk.
Samantha currently serves as Board Director, Nominating & Governance Committee Chair and Audit Committee Member at the Credit Suisse Funds, now under UBS (NYSE: UBS), and a Member of the Governing Council Business Board at the University of Toronto. She also serves as Chief Data Scientist and Co-Founder of Numerati® Partners LLC, a RiskTech firm, and Visiting Scholar/Academic at Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing and Data Science at New York University.
Recognized by the Financial Times as a Future 50 Director, and a Director to Watch by Directors & Boards magazine, Samantha is the author of Board Governance of AI & Emerging Technologies, and Do Boards Need “AI Expert” Directors? both in Directors & Boards, and a contributor to NACD Director Essentials: Implementing AI Governance. She is an active contributor at governance forums in USA, Canada and UK, addressing AI and data governance, cybersecurity, financial markets and global macroeconomic trends. She has served as faculty at NYU Directors’ Academy, NACD Master Class on Technology and Innovation Oversight and Diligent Institute, and been an invited panelist at conferences including Character of the Corporation, Corporate Board Member, Independent Directors Council, Institute of Directors UK, NACD Summit, Private Directors Association, Society for Corporate Governance, WCD Global Institute, and WGOB Canada. Samantha has been awarded the DCRO Institute Certificate in Risk Governance®, Certificate in Private Company Governance from the Private Directors Association, and has also completed the Harvard Business School Program Making Corporate Boards More Effective. For additional information, please see Samantha’s biography, recent news and conferences.
