Having served as an independent non-executive director (NED) with a strong focus on digital transformation for almost eight years at Moldova’s largest bank, MAIB, and nearly four years at Bank Lviv in Ukraine, I want to share some reflections on why digital expertise matters at the supervisory board level, what functions such digital board members perform, and how their involvement can reshape a company’s trajectory.

It is no longer surprising when companies, alongside traditional competencies such as HR, business development, risk management, or finance, openly recognize the need for digital expertise. This is already common practice for executive management, especially in technology-driven industries such as fintech, telecommunications, e-commerce, or logistics.

Yet in more conservative sectors, such as healthcare, manufacturing, or energy, IT and digital functions often remain below the CEO-1 level, perceived as operational rather than strategic. This is a mistake, time is running out for companies that continue to treat digital as a support function rather than a strategic enabler. For such organizations, underestimating the role of IT & Digital will not only slow growth, it will disable their ability to compete. Boards that lack digital fluency have an evident risk to miss not only operational efficiencies but also entirely new emerging business models in their industries.

What a digitally competent board member brings

A board member with digital expertise does more than review IT budgets or comment on cybersecurity. They bring a mindset — an understanding of how data, AI, automation, and customer experience seamlessly intersect with business models. They convert technology into strategic advantage and ensure that digital transformation is not a one-off project but a cultural shift.

For example:

• In banking, a digital NED might challenge management on how AI-driven scoring improves risk models or how digital onboarding reduces customer acquisition costs.
• In healthcare, they might ask whether electronic health records are used merely for compliance or as a foundation for predictive, personalized care.
• In logistics or retail, they might highlight how automation can open new revenue streams and partnerships and, again, provide individualized offers.

The same as a risk committee benefits from members who understand credit and operational risk in depth, a supervisory board benefits from someone who sees how digital ecosystems can amplify or threaten the company’s long-term strategy.

Building effective collaboration across the board

For digital expertise to deliver real value, communication must be deliberate. The digital board member’s role is not to “teach technology” but to connect technical capabilities with business strategy.

• With executive management: focus on impact and feasibility. A good digital NED asks not “what technology are you using?” but “how does this initiative change margins, business growth speed, or customer experience?”
• With fellow board members: the goal is to demystify digital topics, helping others see them through a business lens. Complex concepts like AI governance or cloud migration should be translated into business language familiar to all.
• Within the board culture: a digital board member should foster curiosity, challenge assumptions, and support a culture where experimentation and learning are encouraged.

When this works well, digital expertise doesn’t sit in isolation, it proactively enhances the collective decision-making of the entire board.

How digital expertise reshapes a company’s trajectory

When digital thinking becomes part of the boardroom DNA, companies move from reactive modernization to proactive innovation — shaping not just their operations but their entire market positioning, overpassing the competition with less digital mindset.

They make better strategic bets, accelerate transformation, and align technology decisions with long-term business value. Transformation costs are switched from expenses to investments into the future.

Thus ultimately, digital board members help companies recognize technology not as a cost center, but as a core driver of resilience, growth, and competitive differentiation.