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Pay, Performance, and the AI Talent Race | Farient Briefings

October 15, 2026

Pay, Performance, and the AI Talent Race

Bad metrics do more than miss the mark—they can reward the wrong behavior. And as companies pay a roughly 30% premium for scarce AI skills, the stakes extend well beyond compensation.

Farient Partner Angela Moe explains how boards can pressure-test incentive plans, set defensible performance measures, and compete for transformative talent without creating internal inequities or a culture clash.

Her message: In the race for AI talent, smart pay design must reinforce—not undermine—strategy, accountability, and trust.

The New Cost of CEO Succession

Nearly three-quarters of surveyed public company directors say their compensation committee’s involvement in succession-related matters has increased over the past two years.

New research from Farient Advisors and Corporate Board Member (CBM) reveals this important shift. Yet only one-third say their boards use compensation to “a great extent” to support succession strategy and retention of key executives.

The takeaway: Pay can support continuity, but it cannot substitute for a deep, forward-looking talent strategy that connects readiness, retention, rewards, and long-term value creation.

Read more from what is now Farient’s fourth year of exclusive research in partnership with CBM on how compensation committees and their directors are adapting to greater oversight of compensation, talent, and governance.

Where to Find Us

Future-Ready Compensation: Linking Pay to the Talent Agenda

Washington, DC
October 13, 2026

Farient Advisors Partner Richard J. (RJ) Bannister Jr. brought a future-ready lens to one of the board’s most urgent questions: how pay should support the talent agenda. Bannister, who joined a panel this week at NACD’s annual directors’ Summit, provided practical ways to pressure-test incentive plans, align rewards with evolving talent needs, and ask management sharper questions.

Bannister was joined on stage by KPMG’s Annalisa Barrett and public company directors Barbara Duganier and Katina Dorton, who offered timely insights, peer perspectives, and takeaways boards can use before the next talent decision lands on the agenda.

NACD Compensation Committee Board Leadership Exchange

New York
November 17, 2026

Farient Advisors Partners Richard J. Bannister Jr. and Angela Moe will provide their expertise at this semi-annual gathering of Fortune 500 compensation committee chairs. Business transformation is at the heart of the daylong agenda, dovetailing compensation alignment with talent strategy, and more.

The Directorship 100 Gala

Cipriani Wall Street
December 7, 2026

New York, New York is for the 19th year the setting for the NACD’s annual Directorship 100 gala. Robin A. Ferracone, Farient CEO and a founding partner of the Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group, will be among the 2026 honorees. Each year, the D100 honors directors and governance experts for their judgment, integrity, oversight, and leadership. Over the last two decades, the D100 has evolved from an editorial “who’s who” to a more formal peer-driven awards process. The final nominees are ratified by the NACD board of directors.

Stay updated on the latest topics shaping compensation and remuneration committee agendas in the new year. Follow us on LinkedIn and share Farient Briefings with your colleagues.

About Farient Advisors

Farient Advisors LLC, a GECN Group company, is an independent premier executive compensation, performance, and corporate governance consultancy. Farient provides a full array of services linking business and talent strategy to compensation through a tailored, analytically rigorous, and collaborative approach. Farient has locations in New York, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, London, and Louisville, and works with clients globally through its partnership in the Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group. Farient is a certified diverse company and is recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.