Health and safety is the leading risk for directors and officers worldwide for a second year running, according to the Global D&O Survey. Social risks such as workplace safety, mental health, and DEI are rising in prominence, while climate change and artificial intelligence no longer feature among the top concerns in any region.
Global directors and officers are reshuffling their risk priorities, with health and safety holding the top spot for a second straight year, while climate risk and artificial intelligence continue to slide down the agenda, according to data from the Clyde&Co’s survey.
The survey, which gathered responses from directors, officers, and risk managers worldwide, shows health and safety ranked as the number one risk globally, cited by 84% of respondents as very or extremely important.
Physical workplace safety remains the dominant concern, flagged by 43% of respondents, while 28% pointed to mental health and wellbeing as their primary issue.
The results highlight a broader shift toward social risks. Diversity, equity, and inclusion moved into the top seven risks in multiple regions, including Great Britain, North America, and Africa, ranking above artificial intelligence, geopolitical risk, climate change, and pollution in several markets.
Civil litigation also re-entered the global top seven for the first time since 2018.
Climate change and pollution, once central boardroom topics, no longer appear among the top seven risks in any region.
By contrast, regulatory risk continues to rank consistently high, holding fourth place globally for the fourth consecutive survey.
Cyber risk remains a core concern, though its profile is nuanced. Cyber attacks and data loss rank second and third overall, yet 61% of respondents said their boards already have sufficient skills to manage cybersecurity and data privacy.
Artificial intelligence sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. It ranks lowest in terms of board skills, time allocation, and perceived materiality, and does not feature in the top seven risks in any region.
Regional differences are pronounced. Health and safety ranks first in Europe, Latin America, the Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East, but falls behind cyber and data risks in Great Britain, Asia, and North America. In Asia, regulatory breach leads the risk ranking, while data loss tops the list in North America.
Industry splits add further texture. Health and safety ranks first across most sectors, including industrial, healthcare, transportation, retail, and energy.
Finance and insurance stand apart, where data loss and regulatory breach dominate, and health and safety drops into the lower quartile for insurers, despite remaining a top-three risk for asset managers.
Company size also shapes perceptions. Firms with revenues below $5 bn rank health and safety as their top concern.
Among companies generating more than $5 bn, regulatory breach takes first place, while health and safety slips to fifth, still a high ranking given the survey tested 30 distinct risks.
The survey sample skewed toward private companies, which accounted for 56% of respondents, followed by listed firms at 32%.
One-third of participating companies reported revenues below $50 mn, and another third fell between $50 mn and $1 bn. Services companies made up the largest share of respondents, followed by transportation and retail, and finance and insurance.
According to Angus Duncan, Global D&O Coverage Specialist at WTW, the results reflect a boardroom environment increasingly shaped by workforce issues, regulation, and litigation risk.
He noted that while cyber remains critical, the rise of DEI and civil litigation points to growing sensitivity around social and governance pressures.
Hannah Tindal, head of management liability commercial at Allianz UK, said the heightened focus on DEI mirrors political and regulatory tension, particularly in the US, where companies face activist scrutiny and emerging legal challenges tied to DEI policies.
Taken together, the findings suggest boards are recalibrating risk oversight away from long-term environmental themes toward immediate people, regulatory, and litigation exposures, even as cyber threats remain embedded in the background.
