Better boards. Stronger directors. Governance that creates value.
The Global Board Institute develops boards and the people who sit on them: world-class governance education, hands-on board advisory, and a global network of chairs and directors across 60+ countries.
Our members, alumni and clients come from iconic organizations
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The 2026 Global State of the Board Report
What boards across the GCC, Europe and beyond are prioritizing, struggling with, and changing this year: composition, AI oversight, evaluation practice, director development and remuneration, in one report.
- The governance priorities boards set for 2026, and where they are falling behind
- How boards are responding to AI, ESG and rising regulatory expectations
- What separates high-performing boards from the rest
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By downloading you agree to receive occasional board governance insights from GBI. Unsubscribe anytime.One institute. Three ways we make boards better.
Most organizations offer a course, a community, or a consultant. GBI integrates all three, so what your directors learn, who they know, and how your board actually runs reinforce each other.
The Global Chairs & Board Directors Network
The professional home for chairs, NEDs and governance leaders: peer groups, chapter events in Dubai, Riyadh and London, board role listings, career support and the Annual Global Board Summit. Four tiers, from aspiring director to full governance teams.
Explore Membership →Governance Education That Counts
University credit-rated diplomas, focused certificates in AI governance and ESG, practitioner masterclasses, and enterprise programs with 180+ microlearning lessons, built by practitioners and delivered worldwide.
Explore Education →Board Advisory & Implementation
From board evaluation and composition design to director search, onboarding and full boards-as-a-service for SMEs: ten solutions led personally by our founder and delivered through a global faculty of practicing chairs and directors.
Explore Advisory →Every solution a board needs, from composition to contribution
Scoped to your board after a short brief. No off-the-shelf documents, no generic templates.
Board Composition Design
A skills-matrix-driven blueprint for the board your strategy actually needs.
Explore →Board Director Job Description
Professionally drafted director role charters that set expectations before problems start.
Explore →Governance Framework Design
The complete governance architecture: charters, delegation of authority, decision rights and calendar.
Explore →Board Director Development Programs
Bespoke, in-boardroom development built around your board's real agenda.
Explore →Board Off-Site Days
Professionally designed and facilitated strategy days that boards actually remember.
Explore →Board Compensation Design
Evidence-based director remuneration: benchmarked, defensible, and aligned to contribution.
Explore →Board Evaluation
Independent, evidence-based board effectiveness reviews, guided or fully facilitated.
Explore →Board Director Search
Search built on a global network of chairs and directors, not a database of CVs.
Explore →Director Onboarding Programs
Structured 90-day onboarding that gets new directors contributing in months, not years.
Explore →SME Board Solutions
A professional board for your growing business: chaired, staffed and run by GBI.
Explore →Credentials your boardroom will recognize
Enterprise, Family Business & Government
Microlearning library of 180+ lessons, 21 curated pathways and cohort-based diplomas, delivered through your LMS or ours.
Explore → DiplomasUniversity Credit-Rated Diplomas
Corporate Governance, ESG and Board Secretary diplomas. EQF-aligned, self-paced, recognized internationally.
Explore → CertificatesFocused Governance Certificates
AI Governance, CSRD and ESG reporting certificates that close specific boardroom capability gaps fast.
Explore → MasterclassesPractitioner Masterclasses
Including our flagship: Build Your Director Brand and Get More Board Roles, the 6-step strategy for winning board seats.
Explore →Your governance career deserves the right network
The Global Chairs & Board Directors Network connects governance leaders across 60+ countries: curated peer groups, board role access, advisory sessions, and education discounts of 10-20%.
“Within six months of joining, I had been introduced to two boards where I now serve as NED.”
Senior Non-Executive Director, Financial Services, Dubai · Premium MemberWhat boards should be thinking about now
GBI and Board Nominate Sign Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Members' Path to the Boardroom
The Global Board Institute has signed a strategic partnership with Board Nominate giving its members access to 60+ Board Roles across multiple jurisdi…
Read → Feb 28, 2026The Boardroom’s Moment of Truth: Why 2026 Is a Turning Point for Corporate Governance
There is a number circulating in governance circles that should unsettle every sitting director: 93%. That is the share of C-suite executives who beli…
Read → Feb 12, 2026The Leadership Gap at the Board that No One is Talking About
CEO turnover has become a recurring headline. But headlines may sometimes miss the point, at least from our point of view from the Board and Governanc…
Read →Tools, roles and rooms worth being in
Board Roles
60+ live NED and advisory roles through GBI and partners, exclusive to members.
Open →Events & Webinars
In-person chapter events in Dubai, Riyadh and London, plus a full webinar library on demand.
Open →Libraries
Curated governance resources, tools and templates for directors and board secretaries.
Open →The Board Effectiveness Self-Diagnostic
A 15-minute scored diagnostic across the six domains of the GBI Board Effectiveness Model. See where your board stands before you change anything.
- 18 scored questions across six effectiveness domains
- Instant scoring bands with interpretation guidance
- The 5 findings that appear in almost every first external review
- Plus: the Board Skills Matrix Template on request
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The institution behind better boardrooms
The Global Board Institute is a governance education, advisory and community organization headquartered in Dubai, serving board directors and governance professionals across the GCC, Europe and internationally.
Our mission is to equip board members with world-class education, advisory support and innovative solutions that enhance board effectiveness and leadership impact. Named Best Institute of the Year 2024, our programs are EQF-aligned and delivered with leading governance institutions.
The Professional Diploma in NRC Governance™, built on The Gatekeeper's Chair by Wassim Karkabi, is the world's first dedicated NRC Chair qualification.
Wassim Karkabi
Founder & Executive Chairman, Global Board Institute
Non-Executive Director, NRC Chair and board governance advisor, with over twenty years as a senior headhunter with Stanton Chase, a Forbes-ranked global executive search firm. Creator of the Five Pillars of NRC Governance™ framework and author of The Gatekeeper's Chair.
Talk to us about your board
Whatever your board needs next, start with a conversation
One call is enough to identify the highest-leverage next step for your board, your directors or your own governance career.