Samantha Kappagoda participated in the panel Backing Tech Investment at the Board Level at the Financial Times Outstanding Directors Exchange on June 11, 2026. The Outstanding Directors Exchange is an annual in-person conference held at Apella by Alexandria in New York City on June 10 and 11, 2026, convening board directors to address questions of boardroom integrity and strategic oversight.
The session was moderated by Anna Roach, Senior Reporter, Agenda (Financial Times). Samantha’s fellow panelists were:
- Cheemin Bo-Linn: KORE Group Holdings, Inc.
- Jorge Titinger: Chair, Axcelis Technologies; Director, FormFactor and Ichor Holdings
The panel explored how boards can effectively oversee and approve high-risk technology investments, including the following topics:
- What makes a high-risk tech investment board-ready?
- Are current governance approaches slowing innovation?
Samantha Kappagoda’s Contribution at the Financial Times Outstanding Directors Exchange
Samantha’s contribution to this panel brought a perspective that is rare among board directors overseeing technology investments: direct operating experience with data, analytics and technology at Numerati® Partners, combined with active board oversight responsibilities as Independent Director, Nominating & Governance Committee Chair and Audit Committee Member at Credit Suisse Funds. Her perspective addressed what it actually takes for a board to evaluate whether a high-risk AI, cloud or digital investment is ready for approval — not as a governance checklist exercise, but as a substantive engagement with the data, the model assumptions and the risk exposure.
Samantha was recognized by the Financial Times as a Future 50 Director in October 2025, when FT Agenda and Equilar collaborated to identify fifty board candidates with transformative skills and vision for today’s complex governance environment. In addition, she was quoted in the Financial Times article Should Your Board Appoint a Bot? in April 2026.
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 and Emerging Technologies, and Do Boards Need “AI Expert” Directors?, both in Directors & Boards, and a contributor to NACD Director Essentials: Implementing AI Governance. Samantha also serves as an Advisory Council member for the KPMG/INSEAD AI Governance Principles for Boards published in 2026, contributing to a global principles-based approach developed with board members, investors, operators and governance specialists across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Samantha 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. Samantha has been an invited panelist at conferences including Character of the Corporation, Corporate Board Member, Financial Times Outstanding Directors Exchange, Independent Directors Council, Institute of Directors UK, KPMG Board Leadership Conference, and NACD Summit. She has earned 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.
