The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary black-swan event that has required companies to accom-plish amazing feats in order to keep shelves full, call centers staffed, and employees, partners, and customers safe. The ability of management teams to make quick decisions with the confidence and backing of their boards of directors and chairpersons has been critical in enabling companies to adapt—a key lesson as the pandemic goes on. Because disruptions and crises will continue to occur, possibly even more frequently and dramatically than be-fore, boards and chairs will play a crucial role in ensuring that organizations remain resilient.

We talked to 17 leading board chairs across Asia-Pacific (APAC) to understand what they have learned so far from the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify their top-of-mind concerns for the coming recovery.