The past year brought significant new pressures for general secretaries. From governing the use of AI in board operations to navigating a tightening regulatory landscape and managing legal entities across borders, the scope of the role has expanded considerably. As we work closely with our clients to meet their evolving needs, members of DiliTrust sat down with general secretaries to discuss their biggest challenges in 2026 and how they are tackling them.
1. Adopting AI tools
General secretaries told us that AI is no longer a topic on the horizon. It’s on their desks. The main challenge isn’t access to tools. It’s building the literacy and judgment to use them well.
AI has real benefits for this role: faster document drafting, automated minute generation from meeting recordings, document summarization for board members before meetings, and better-organized board meeting workflows. When used correctly, it frees up time that used to go toward routine documentation and redirects it toward the substantive governance work.
According to PwC’s 2026 Annual Corporate Directors Survey, 35% of board members say their organizations have already integrated AI into board oversight activities. That number will climb. The general secretaries we spoke with are working to stay ahead of it rather than react to it.
But AI adoption brings a governance obligation that’s now written into law. The EU AI Act became fully applicable in August 2026. Organizations using high-risk AI systems must maintain documentation, carry out risk assessments, and ensure human oversight of AI-driven decisions. General secretaries are well-placed to coordinate this, but it requires structured processes and clear internal policies.
One point that came up consistently in our conversations: if a tool uses AI to handle board governance data, that data should stay in a private, secured environment. Tools that route sensitive information through public AI models create confidentiality risks that general secretaries need to address before deployment.
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2. Tackling IT and Cybersecurity risks
AI adoption and cybersecurity risk go hand in hand. The general secretaries we spoke with are watching both fronts closely, and the regulatory environment is adding urgency.
In the EU, DORA came into effect in January 2025. For organizations in the financial sector and their ICT providers, it means formal ICT risk management programs, third-party supplier assessments, and new incident reporting obligations. General secretaries in those organizations now carry direct compliance responsibilities under this framework.
NIS2 adds further pressure across critical sectors. ENISA’s NIS Investments Report 2025, covering 1,080 organizations across all EU Member States, found that 70% cite compliance as the primary driver of cybersecurity investment. Yet implementation remains genuinely difficult: patching (50% of organizations report this as a key challenge), business continuity (49%), and supply-chain risk management (37%) are the top areas of difficulty.
The geopolitical dimension is real too. For organizations operating across multiple jurisdictions, understanding which platforms handle board data, where that data is hosted, and whether vendors meet EU sovereignty requirements is no longer optional. When boards discuss M&A activity, executive compensation, or strategic risk, the platform carrying those discussions needs to meet a high bar.
| Regulatory framework | Scope | Implications for general secretaries |
|---|---|---|
| DORA (effective Jan 2025) | Financial sector and ICT providers | ICT risk tracking, third-party supplier oversight, incident reporting |
| NIS2 Directive | Critical sectors across EU | Business continuity governance, patching oversight, supply-chain risk |
| EU AI Act (fully applicable Aug 2026) | All sectors using high-risk AI | Documentation requirements, risk assessments, human oversight protocols |
| GDPR | All EU data processors | Data handling policies for board communications and governance records |
3. Managing legal entities across jurisdictions
This came up repeatedly in our client conversations, and it’s one of the fastest-growing areas of general secretary responsibility.
Organizations with subsidiaries, joint ventures, or international operations maintain dozens, sometimes hundreds, of legal entities. Keeping those entities compliant means tracking director mandates, filing deadlines, shareholder structures, and corporate record updates across multiple jurisdictions, on a continuous basis.
Done manually, the risk is real. Missed filings lead to penalties. Outdated records create compliance gaps that show up during audits or M&A transactions, often at the worst possible time.
Legal entity management software centralizes entity data, automates deadline alerts, and provides real-time org charts showing ownership structures at a glance. Organizations that have made this shift report audit preparation time cut by more than 80%, because documents, approvals, and historical records are already organized and traceable when they’re needed.
For general secretaries managing multi-jurisdictional structures, this has moved from a useful tool to a practical necessity.
Managing entities across multiple countries without a central system? See how DiliTrust’s Entity Management module helps teams track mandates, maintain accurate records, and stay audit-ready across jurisdictions.
4. Enhancing collaboration and communication
The pace of regulatory change across Europe continues to make board coordination more demanding. General secretaries told us that keeping directors aligned, informed, and able to act is harder when they’re distributed across time zones and regulatory environments.
Virtual board meetings are standard now. But running them well is not automatic. Platforms need to be secure and genuinely easy for directors who may access the tool only a few times per year. Real-time document updates, digital voting, and resolution tracking need to work without friction. If board members need training every time they log in, they’ll disengage.
Cross-border communication adds another dimension. When AI handles transcription or translation during meetings, general secretaries need to know where that data is processed, who can access it, and whether the platform meets GDPR requirements. Meeting discussions that touch on sensitive strategic matters carry significant confidentiality obligations. The platform choice is a governance decision, not just a technology one.
5. Working with data and data-driven decisions
The growth of data presents both an opportunity and a challenge for general secretaries. What we hear from clients is that the difficulty isn’t finding data. It’s filtering it.
Boards need concise, decision-relevant information. Presenting too much is as problematic as presenting too little. General secretaries are increasingly expected to curate governance dashboards and package information in formats that non-specialist directors can act on quickly.
AI-assisted document summarization is changing what’s possible here. Instead of reading through lengthy board packs, directors can access AI-generated summaries that pull out the key decisions, risks, and action points. General secretaries benefit too: less time formatting and packaging documents means more time on the governance work that actually requires their expertise.
The broader shift is from data collection to data interpretation. Knowing which numbers matter to a board, and presenting them clearly, is increasingly part of the job.
Integrating technology that works for everyone
Every general secretary we spoke with raised the challenge of technology adoption, specifically the difficulty of introducing new tools to board members who have varying levels of technical comfort and very limited time.
Simplicity and ease of use are not optional features. Board members meet a handful of times per year. If the platform requires significant effort to navigate, adoption will be low and the tool won’t deliver value.
The general secretaries who have had the most success with technology adoption point to a few consistent factors:
- Ease of use for board members: Intuitive interfaces that work on tablet and mobile with no training required
- Data security: Sovereign hosting, end-to-end encryption, and GDPR compliance for EU-based organizations
- Private AI: Tools that process governance data within a closed environment, not through public AI models
- Integration: E-signature support, calendar sync, and compatibility with existing legal systems
- Platform scope: A board portal that connects with contract management, entity management, and matter management in a single suite reduces the number of disconnected systems to manage
Legacy software is a persistent obstacle. Transitioning away from outdated tools takes planning and incremental steps. Postponing the transition carries growing risk as regulatory expectations around data handling and audit trails become more specific.
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Not sure how to evaluate board portal options? DiliTrust’s buyer’s guide covers the key selection criteria, questions to ask vendors, and a checklist for comparing platforms side by side.
Looking ahead
As general secretaries navigate 2026, the role continues to evolve from administrative coordinator to strategic governance partner. The combination of AI adoption, cybersecurity pressure, and multi-jurisdictional compliance has made the job more demanding, but also more central to how organizations operate.
The general secretaries who are managing these challenges well share a common approach: they’re deliberate about the tools they choose, they build governance structures around technology rather than relying on it to replace judgment, and they stay close to the regulatory changes affecting their industry.
See how DiliTrust helps general secretaries manage board meetings, entity records, and governance workflows in one secure platform.
Explore the DiliTrust Governance Suite
What are the main challenges for a general secretary in 2026?
The role has expanded well beyond its original administrative scope. Based on what general secretaries are telling us, the key challenges in 2026 are: governing AI adoption while protecting sensitive board data; complying with DORA, NIS2, and the EU AI Act; managing legal entity records across multiple jurisdictions; coordinating cross-border board collaboration; and translating large volumes of data into clear, decision-ready information for directors. Each of these requires governance expertise alongside familiarity with the tools that support it.
Most rely on a board management platform for meeting preparation, document distribution, and minutes. Many also use entity management software to track corporate structures and filing deadlines across subsidiaries. The trend is toward integrated governance platforms that cover board operations, entity management, contract management, and matter management in a single system, reducing manual handoffs between disconnected tools. DiliTrust’s Governance Suite brings all of these functions together in one secure, EU-hosted platform.
AI can reduce time spent on documentation, summarization, and routine data extraction. Specific applications include automated minute generation, pre-meeting document summaries for board members, and contract clause identification during due diligence. The condition that matters most: AI tools used for board governance should operate within a private, secure environment. Tools that route sensitive information through public AI models introduce confidentiality risks. DiliTrust’s proprietary AI works entirely within your governance environment, so board data stays protected at every step.
