In conversation with Ralph Hohls
CEO and Founder, RH Connect
To broaden the conversation on responsible AI use in governance, we asked Ralph Hohls, CEO and Founder of RH Connect, how Boards, Company Secretaries and governance professionals should approach AI in board practice.
What is the biggest misconception boards or governance professionals have about AI?
RH: The biggest misconception is that AI is either inherently dangerous and not to be trusted, or that it somehow has a mind of its own and will replace board judgment. In practice, the real risk in governance comes from ungoverned use of generic AI tools on highly sensitive information, not from AI itself. When AI is treated as a governed tool, used within secure environments, under clear policies and human oversight, it can enhance board work rather than undermine it.
How can AI genuinely improve board or committee effectiveness?
RH: AI can materially improve effectiveness by taking on some of the heavy lifting that currently consumes directors’ time. It can read long packs, generate concise briefings, highlight gaps, and suggest lines of questioning, enabling directors and committee members to spend more time on judgment, challenge, and strategic choices. AI can also support agenda design and meeting sequencing so that board time is spent on the most critical risks and decisions, rather than routine administration. Used this way, AI becomes a powerful decision‑support tool that helps boards think deeper and move faster, while keeping ultimate accountability firmly with the directors.
What advice would you give a Company Secretary using AI to support board preparation or minute drafting?
RH: Minutes are highly nuanced. They capture tone, context and the board’s collective judgment, so AI should be treated as a drafting assistant, not the official author. Company Secretaries can use AI to help structure agendas, prepare initial draft minutes and tidy wording, but clear human control must remain over what is recorded, especially for sensitive topics and in-camera discussions. Equally important is where AI is used: avoid uploading recordings, board packs and confidential material into public tools, and work only within trusted, organisation-approved platforms with explicit protocols for AI use in minutes.
What practical safeguards should organisations implement before introducing AI into governance processes?
RH: Start with containment and clarity. Ensure that any AI used for board and governance work is contained within secure, enterprise‑approved environments—with a clear prohibition on using consumer AI tools for board materials. Adopt a formal AI policy that covers acceptable use, confidentiality, data retention, human review of outputs, and escalation routes if something goes wrong, and make sure directors and governance teams are trained on these protocols. Finally, treat vendor claims about “responsible” or “quantum‑safe” AI as the beginning of a due‑diligence conversation, not the end: test their security, regulatory alignment, and AI governance practices against your own risk appetite, regulations and governance best practice.
Looking ahead, what AI capability do you believe governance professionals should begin developing now?
RH: Prompt engineering is important – understanding how to ask the right questions so you get useful, reliable outputs – but it sits within a broader AI literacy that governance professionals now need. They should become comfortable using AI for routine governance tasks in a safe, policy-aligned way, while also strengthening their understanding of AI risk, data governance and emerging regulation and oversight expectations. The real differentiator will be governance professionals who can translate AI issues into clear board-level insights, combining practical prompting skills with a strong governance lens on ethics, security, compliance and long-term value.
About Ralph Hohls
Ralph Hohls is the CEO and Founder of RH Connect, a people-tech connector helping boards, public-sector teams and governance professionals get real value from the digital systems they already own. He combines decades of enterprise IT, supply chain and board-support experience with a pragmatic focus on AI, board portals and workflow enablement. Ralph is regularly engaged as a trusted sounding board on technology-enabled governance, with a particular interest in the responsible and secure use of AI in board practice.