Paul Smith is the founder of Future Directors, a Board software platform that blends technology, education, and community to help directors and Boards stay relevant, effective, and future-focused. As a governance innovator, Paul supports Boards across the for-impact (not for profit), start-up, and private sectors to elevate decision-making quality, navigate uncertainty, and align purpose with performance.
Known internationally as The Board Futurist, Paul brings over 15 years of boardroom experience as a Chair, Non-Executive Director, and trusted advisor. He has guided hundreds of leaders through Board reviews, succession planning, and performance development initiatives, and regularly coaches Chairs and CEOs on boardroom leadership and culture. Paul has served on Boards across Australia, Europe, and the UK, and was recently the Special Advisor to the newly formed Institute of Directors Maldives. He currently Chairs the Board of biotech start-up Eclipse Ingredients. He has also been Vice-Chair of The Jane Goodall Institute Global.
A highly regarded keynote speaker and writer, Paul is committed to helping Boards master the shift toward a more complex, interconnected, and technologically-enabled world. His signature message – that the Board of the future will be “simultaneously more human and less human”- captures his belief in the fusion of behavioural science and AI.
His first book Right Seat Right Table: An Outsiders’ Guide to Securing the Ideal Board Role is widely used by diverse Board Members globally and won the 2019 Best Leadership Book at the Australian Business Book Awards. His second work, The Artificially Intelligent Boardroom, explores governance in the age of AI, and has led Paul to becoming a specialist expert for Boards seeking to integrate AI and enhanced their decision-making processes and outcomes.
Paul also hosts the Future Directors Podcast and facilitates Board observers programs, He collaborates with Karen Fryday-Field in sharing masterclasses and conferences for governance professionals around the world.
Paul’s areas of specialisation include:
- Board effectiveness, evaluation, and chair development
- Careholder and interested party engagement and stewardship
- Governance of emerging technologies (including AI)
- Inclusive and values-aligned decision-making
- Succession planning and Board recruitment
- Generative and strategic thinking at Board level
- Governance capacity-building in under-resourced contexts
Paul’s influence extends across governance ecosystems, from helping design national governance standards, to building Board-tech platforms, to supporting the next generation of diverse directors.