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Some boards are changing committee structures to focus more on technology and sustainability
Overall, three-fourths of S&P 500 company boards now have at least one additional board committee beyond the core three regulatory committees, up from 73% in 2019.
This year, the percentage of S&P 500 company boards with a separate technology committee increased to 12%, up from 8% in 2019. This makes technology committees now slightly more common than risk committees, which 11% of S&P 500 company boards have. A majority of these boards charged their technology committee with oversight of cybersecurity (sometimes in coordination with the audit committee), but committee descriptions reflect that most of these committees also focus on strategic opportunities. Indeed, for 77% of technology committees, the descriptions in the proxy statement of their key responsibilities include the terms “innovation,” “strategy,” “transformation” or “investment.” Most boards adding a technology committee are part of the health care, technology or financial sector.