CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 2, 2025--
BDO USA released its 2025 Board Survey today, an annual report that polled over 200 public company board directors on their priorities and challenges in the coming year. As digital innovation continues to dominate boardroom agendas, many directors feel pressure to demonstrate returns on their technological investments — a challenge increased by changing workforce adoption needs. According to BDO’s survey, nearly one-third (32%) of directors feel that advancing the use of emerging technology implementation will require the most board time and attention in the next year, and 23% still believe their tech implementation lags competitors.
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“As directors continue to prioritize growth and innovation, many boardrooms are faced with the human side of digital integration and relentless market volatility. Companies must not only keep pace with competitors but also master implementation to drive meaningful ROI and mitigate risk,” said Amy Rojik, founder of the Center for Corporate Governance at BDO USA. “Effective oversight and value delivery requires collaboration and thoughtful dialogue between management teams and boards, robust change management and integration plans, and an iterative risk and innovation strategy that centers around people just as much as technology.”
In addition to capturing board sentiment on economic uncertainty, regulatory change, and technological disruption, the survey also revealed insight into how directors will approach growth, risk, and human capital considerations of the board, management, and the broader workforce over the next 12 months:
Primary Paths for Growth: Directors increasingly see product development and strategic dealmaking as their top levers for growth in 2026. The report shows that over half (53%) of directors plan to increase investment in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2026, with 30% reporting that strategic dealmaking and partnerships will be their board’s primary focus in the year ahead. Another 31% of directors say that their board is most focused on investing in new products and services for growth, and roughly three-in-four (73%) plan for increased strategic investments in research and development. However, success in all areas will hinge on strong integration plans that consider culture, human capital management, technology debt, and operational excellence.
Technology Implementation Risk: As companies race to deploy AI capabilities, boards are looking to balance speed with caution, BDO’s survey reveals. Nearly one-quarter (23%) see rapidly innovating and developing AI capabilities as the most significant challenge to their business. While trying to keep pace with competitors, boards will also have to navigate the challenges of data privacy and properly train their talent for generative AI adoption to see success. Yet, 17% of boards admit to not having a robust vision for technology implementation and the mitigation of cybersecurity risk.
Human Capital Management & Leadership Dynamics: BDO’s survey also reveals an increased focus on talent and leadership development to navigate AI’s changing impact on the workplace. Over half (51%) of directors are planning increased investments in their workforce, and an equal percentage are specifically targeting training and skills development programs. Directors are also looking into additional skills and experiences that can enhance a board’s ability to govern, drive culture, and develop the C-suite to drive long-term strategy. This is underscored by the 58% of directors who see room for improvement in their management team’s work on talent oversight and workforce development.
As boards prepare for 2026, evolving business needs demand that directors and their management teams sharpen their focus on skills across strategic oversight, risk management, and workforce development. Learn more about how directors perceive the ability of both the board and management to address these and other issues by downloading the 2025 BDO Board Survey report here.
About the 2025 BDO Board Survey
Conducted by Rabin Roberts, an independent market research consulting firm, on behalf of the BDO Center for Corporate Governance, the 2025 BDO Board survey examined the opinions of more than 200 corporate directors of public company boards in August and September 2025. Respondents sit on public boards across a variety of industries including, but not limited to, technology, retail, nonprofit, manufacturing, financial services, energy, healthcare, life sciences, real estate, education, and hospitality.
Survey questions included a mix of “select one,” “select three,” or “select all that apply,” which account for the distribution of responses.
About BDO USA
Our purpose is helping people thrive, every day. Together, we are focused on delivering exceptional and sustainable outcomes and value for our people, our clients, and our communities. BDO is proud to be an ESOP company, reflecting a culture that puts people first. BDO professionals provide assurance, tax, and advisory services for a diverse range of clients across the U.S. and in over 160 countries through our global organization.
BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. BDO USA, P.C., a Virginia professional corporation, is the U.S. member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. For more information, please visit: www.bdo.com.
(Graphic: BDO USA)
The Seattle Seahawks had greatness in their grasp, the end zone in their sights, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on the ropes and Marshawn Lynch in their backfield.
What could go wrong?
Super Bowl 49 between the two teams who are playing again Sunday in Super Bowl 60 came down to this: Trailing 28-24, Seattle had the ball at the Patriots 1 with 26 seconds, a timeout and three plays to try to win the game and hoist their second straight Lombardi Trophy.
Lynch had just bulled his way to the 1 after Jermaine Kearse’s juggling 33-yard catch bounced off his legs and into his arms while he was on the ground at the Patriots 5-yard line.
“I tipped the ball and Kearse still caught it,” former cornerback Malcolm Butler recounted this week in a radio row interview with Boston's WEEI-FM. “I said this game is over. We lose, it's my fault, even though I made a great play. It wasn't good enough.”
On the New England sideline sat Brady, who had witnessed two other improbable catches that led to devastating Super Bowl defeats: David Tyree's 32-yard helmet-pinning catch that helped the New York Giants deny the Patriots a perfect season, and Mario Manningham's 38-yard sideline reception four years later that again helped Eli Manning prevail.
“And then I got another opportunity,” Butler said.
Second-and-goal from the 1, the stage was set for the unknown, undrafted rookie out of West Alabama to become the unlikely hero.
There are a handful of iconic moments in sports that live in glory or infamy, or both.
Tiger's chip-in on 16. Auburn's kick-six. Gibson's pinch-hit homer. LeBron's chase-down block. The Miracle on Ice. Vince Carter's Dunk of Death. Kobe's 81 points. Brandi Chastain's penalty kick.
The calls live in our heads.
“Down goes Frazier.”
“Havlicek stole the ball!”
“Do you believe in miracles?”
Bill Belichick sent in a three-cornerback personnel grouping he hadn't used all season and Pete Carroll decided eight big guys would be hard to score against if Russell Wilson handed the ball to Lynch again, so he called for a quick slant to Ricardo Lockette.
Butler saw the stacked receivers on the right side of the field and asked cornerback Brandon Browner, “Who I got? Who I got? He said, ‘You got the guy in the back,”" Butler told WEEI. “I said this guy hits any kind of crossover, it’s on. And he did. And I just drove on the ball.”
Butler ducked inside of Lockette and beat the receiver to the ball, intercepting Wilson's pass to preserve New England's win and stamp his name in Super Bowl history.
“I'm sorry, but I can't believe the call,” exclaimed NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, who was in the broadcast booth alongside Al Michaels that day. “I cannot believe the call. You've got Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, you've got a guy who's been borderline unstoppable in this part of the field. I can't believe the call.”
Collinsworth, who's doing the game again Sunday, said this week that he thinks about that play “all the time” and is still stumped by the call.
"When the interception actually happened, I didn’t know what happened,” Collinsworth said. “I can tell you that now. I was watching the field. I started to watch the monitor so I could see it up close, and I remember going, no, this is a piece of history. I want to see it with my own two eyes. I didn’t want to just watch it on the monitor.”
What he saw he couldn't believe: Wilson firing into a cluster of blue and white shirts, Butler digging inside of Lockette and corralling the first interception of his career.
“There was an explosion of bodies that all hit at the same time, and the crowd went crazy, and my first thought was, ‘I don’t know who has the ball,’” Collinsworth said. "Secondly, it was, ‘I don’t even know who those players are that just ran into each other.’ It was so chaotic.
“And then in a moment’s time, Al screamed out, ‘Malcolm Butler, interception!’ And I'm just sitting there going over and over again in my mind thinking, Marshawn Lynch had two tries from the 1. If he didn’t make it the first time, then so be it; but you’re also going to take additional clock off, which is going to give Tom Brady less opportunity to make a play.”
It wasn't just the play call but the pass itself that took Collinsworth by surprise.
“I did consider the possibility of it being a pass, but I thought for sure it would have been a run/pass option out of the pocket in some way,” he said. “So the play shocked me in every way imaginable.”
He had plenty of company in his bewilderment.
“Dumbest play call in the HISTORY of NFL football,” tweeted former 49ers receiver Dwight Clark, who made a pretty good grab himself: The Catch.
And this from NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith: “Worst play call I’ve seen in the history of football.”
Carroll explained that he figured it would have been tough for Lynch to score against eight big guys in the box: “It’s not a great matchup for us to run the football, so we were going to throw the ball, really to waste a play. If we score, we do, if we don’t, we’ll run it in on third or fourth down.”
They never got the chance, and Carroll insisted he and not offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was to blame: "I made the decision. I said, ’Throw the ball.' Nobody to blame but me.”
Wilson, who would later have a falling out with Carroll and bounce around the league trying to recapture his old form for a shot at Super Bowl redemption, said he was ultimately the one responsible.
“Put the blame on me," Wilson said after the game. "I’m the one who threw it.”
The one who caught it was Butler, who was on the bubble in training camp and eight months later had an inkling he'd make a big play in the Super Bowl, “but not that big.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) walks off the field after the Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots during the NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game, Feb. 1, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - New England Patriots strong safety Malcolm Butler (21) intercepts a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette (83) during the second half of NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game, Feb. 1, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
