The Matrix for Boards and CEO offices

Put every AI initiative in your organization on one map. See where the portfolio leans, who owns what, what is not being measured, and how it compares with where external pressure is pushing.

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What leadership gets

The same matrix used on this site for the outside world, applied to your own AI portfolio.

A portfolio map

Every AI initiative placed by the six questions of the matrix, sized by scale and coloured by department.

A portfolio compass

One needle showing where the whole portfolio leans, set against the external Matrix Vector, so the gap between your portfolio and outside pressure is visible at a glance.

An ownership, measurement, and ROI check

Which initiatives have no accountable owner, which are not tracking the measure their zone requires, and which business cases state an ROI that leaves out their zone’s main risk.

A judgment-line watchlist

Initiatives near the judgment line, or where volume is outrunning review. This is where governance most often changes by drift.

How an engagement works

A half-day session with the leadership team, followed by a board pack. We sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before the work begins, and the private tool then lets you keep the portfolio current between reviews.

Inventory
Each department lists its AI initiatives, live and planned, with an accountable owner where one exists.
Place
In the session, owners answer the six questions together, so placements are debated rather than assumed.
Review
The group reads the map, the compass, and the watchlist, and agrees the decisions that follow.
Report
You receive a one-page board pack, and the portfolio file to update each quarter.

Case studies

Three illustrative cases, one for each audience. The organizations are fictional and built to show how the matrix is used; each portfolio opens in the demo, so you can explore it yourself.

Board risk committee

The bank whose biggest AI risks had no owner

Meridian Bank (fictional), a mid-sized private bank with ten AI initiatives across credit, compliance, service, and wealth.

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The situation

The board risk committee received a list of AI projects from each department, but no way to compare them. Every department reported its initiatives as “on track”. Directors could not tell which ones carried the bank’s real exposure.

What the matrix showed

Nearly half of the portfolio by size (45%) sat in Authorize, where contracts, data, and regulation decide what AI may do.
Two of the four Authorize initiatives, retail loan pre-approval scoring and CV screening, had no accountable owner.
Anti-money-laundering alert ranking was flagged as volume outrunning review: it depends on expert judgment, but analysts now only spot-check thousands of alerts a day.
External pressure pointed toward risk carried; the bank’s portfolio was only partly aligned with it.

Decisions taken

Named accountable owners for loan pre-approval scoring and CV screening within 30 days.
Asked legal to check exposure against vendor liability caps for the three Authorize initiatives without that check, starting with the website chatbot.
Commissioned a seeded-error test of AML and credit memo reviewers, to show whether review catches mistakes or has become a formality.
Added the portfolio map and compass to the committee’s quarterly pack.

CEO office

The manufacturer automating faster than it was governing

Kestrel Industries (fictional), a global manufacturer with nine AI initiatives from engineering to customer service.

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The situation

The CEO wanted a single view of AI across the business before approving next year’s budget, including a planned customer service agent that could approve refunds on its own.

What the matrix showed

Almost half of the portfolio by size (47%) sat in Automate, and the portfolio compass pointed toward Automate.
External pressure pointed the other way, toward risk carried. The tool reported that the portfolio leans away from external pressure, which is where the board’s exposure sits.
The planned refund agent landed in Authorize with no owner, before a single customer had used it.
Visual quality inspection was flagged as volume outrunning review, and supplier origin checks for EU exports sat close to the judgment line.

Decisions taken

Held the refund agent at the planning stage until it has an owner and agreed liability terms with the vendor.
Asked finance to track total AI spend for the sales proposal generator and visual inspection, not just price per use.
Kept a person reviewing every supplier origin check until the EU deadline has passed and error rates are known.
Set the next budget round to require a matrix placement for every new AI initiative.

Department heads

The hospital group where each head saw their own map

Northfield Hospital Group (fictional), with seven AI initiatives across clinical, radiology, finance, operations, and patient services.

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The situation

The chief operating officer asked each department head to place their own AI initiatives, then reviewed the combined portfolio with them. The department filter let each head see their own map and compass alongside the whole group’s.

What the matrix showed

Nearly half of the portfolio by size (46%) sat in Authorize, driven by radiology triage, billing codes, and the patient chatbot.
Radiology scan triage was flagged as volume outrunning review: a judgment-heavy task now running at a volume radiologists cannot review case by case.
The ambient scribe for clinical notes sat close to the judgment line and finely balanced between value and risk.
The patient questions chatbot was live with no accountable owner.

Decisions taken

Agreed a written standard for which radiology cases must be read by a radiologist, deciding the judgment line deliberately rather than by drift.
Required clinicians to review every scribe-drafted note during the pilot, with a seeded-error test before any wider rollout.
Named the head of patient services as owner of the chatbot and checked its vendor contract.
Moved to a monthly review in which each department head updates their own placements.

Confidentiality

Every engagement begins with a mutual non-disclosure agreement, signed before any information about your organization is shared with us.

Information you share is used only for the engagement it was shared for.
It is not disclosed to third parties, or used in our research, case studies, or marketing, without your written consent.
On request at the end of an engagement, we return or delete the materials you provided, subject to any legal obligation to retain them.
Please do not send confidential information through our website contact form; we will arrange a secure channel once the agreement is signed.

Disclaimer

Illustrative case studies. The organizations, people, figures, and decisions in the case studies on this page are fictional. They illustrate how the Vector & Value Matrix can be used and do not describe any client, real organization, or actual result.

Decision support, not advice. The matrix, the AI Portfolio Matrix tool, and board packs produced with them are frameworks to structure discussion and judgment. They are not legal, regulatory, financial, investment, accounting, or audit advice, and they are not a substitute for professional advice on your specific circumstances.

Your decisions remain yours. Your organization remains responsible for its AI decisions, its governance, and its compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Placements and recommendations depend on the information provided and on the judgment of the people taking part, and no particular outcome is guaranteed.

The demo tool. The AI Portfolio Matrix demo is provided as is, without warranties of any kind. Data you enter is stored only in your own browser and is not sent to us; you are responsible for keeping your own copies.

Bring the matrix to your next board meeting.

We run the session, place your initiatives with their owners, and hand over the board pack.

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