Private Company Director’s Directors to Watch 2025 highlights 31 significant and diverse directors who have contributed to and will continue to expand ongoing dialogue on board best practices and corporate governance excellence.
Babs Ryan
Aviva Labs
Babs Ryan was chief innovation officer of GE Capital’s largest division (now Synchrony), where one of her patents generated $800 million in incremental revenue. A dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States, she has been onsite in 96 countries.
Ryan is an advisory board member for Aviva Labs, an aesthetics and beauty products manufacturer and business educator operating in 110 countries. Until 2024, she was a director and audit committee member of Workers Federal Credit Union with $2.6 billion in assets, two M&A negotiations and a completed CEO succession.
Other operational roles include director at PwC, CEO of a marketing agency acquired by WPP PLC and senior vice president of innovation at Capgemini’s product design division.
Should AI be your next board member? “You won’t be first. International Holding Company, based in Abu Dhabi, appointed ‘Aiden Insight,’ an AI-powered board observer and reported ‘groundbreaking recommendations.’ Want to identify greatest-potential risks and most lucrative strategies in a heartbeat? Give AI a vote. Who wouldn’t want to hear great questions from an independent, objective financial wiz and future trends analyst leveraging vast datasets — one that understands the market, differentiators and competitors? Should we draw the line at board assessment and refreshment? It’s time for boards to stop talking about AI and appoint the use case.”