Private Company Director’s Directors to Watch 2026 highlights 29 significant and diverse directors who have contributed to and will continue to expand ongoing dialogue on board best practices and corporate governance excellence.
Nazia Raoof
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Nazia Raoof is a 2025 CIO 100 Award–winning technology executive and director focused on innovation and AI. She writes on AI governance for boards, speaks at peer CIO forums and is author of a book on AI ethics for the next generation. She serves on the boards of Lurie Children’s Hospital and Kohl Children’s Museum, and advisory boards of Loyola University Chicago and MoneyLIVE North America. Drawing on executive roles at Relativity, Wintrust Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Northern Trust, West Monroe, Neuberger Berman and Lehman Brothers, she brings her boards practical insight into AI strategy, road maps and partnerships that scale automation and analytics responsibly. Trained in improv at The Second City, she translates complex technology and risk into plain-English discussions that help boards balance innovation, oversight and resilience.
Raoof is a member of the Private Directors Association.
Governing AI with curiosity and guardrails. “Private company boards don’t need to understand every detail of AI, but they do need to govern it as a matter of strategy, risk and trust. Directors may find it useful to anchor discussion in three questions: What value are we creating, what risks are we unwilling to take and what guardrails must be in place before we scale? From there, boards can ask for plain-language dashboards, scenario-based questions and small, well-designed experiments. This balance lets companies move quickly on AI while honoring the board’s duty of care to people, reputation and long-term resilience.”