Chief AI, technology and data executives will gain greater C-suite prominence over the next five years as tech adoption plans advance. The trend reflects ongoing generative AI interest in the enterprise.
Two in 5 respondents to a West Monroe survey published in June said the chief AI officer role would increase in importance over the next five years. It was the most popular option among the 1,000 consulted professionals holding director, VP, SVP roles and above.
The second most favored role was chief data or information officer, highlighted by 11% of respondents as the C-suite role most likely to gain greater traction.
Companies align C-suite tech roles with their business strategy. But the rise of specific roles, like chief digital or AI officer, often tracks with organizational or technological maturity, according to Casey Foss, chief commercial officer at West Monroe.
"We're seeing organizations that, five years ago, named a chief digital officer in preparation to respond to this physical and digital world and the commingling of the two to get their organizations ready," Foss said. "Now, digital permeates every function and every component, and so that role is going away but the need isn't."
As AI interest deepens, appointing an officer to guide AI strategy signals to the market and employees that the company plans to invest heavily in the technology and its adoption, Foss said.
CIOs still lead on AI
Despite the popularity of the title, the majority of enterprises still task their CIOs with leading AI initiatives.
One-quarter of businesses entrust a CIO with the technology, though more than half of businesses have a head of AI or AI leader to shepherd adoption, according to Gartner survey of 1,800 executives published June 26.
As the technology permeates the enterprise, organizations will adjust their leadership strategies, Gartner expects.
“AI and GenAI are complex and far-reaching and touch every job, activity and strategic conversation in the organization,” Frances Karamouzis, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, said in the study announcement. “However, this does not mean that the people or team responsible for orchestrating AI at an organization have to have a title at the altitude of the C-suite.”
The next five years will probably bring a different title into the mix, in order to let businesses address new kinds of emerging technology, according to Foss.
"I don't think AI is going anywhere," Foss said. "I think it's going to become more like digital, in that it's going to become infused in every aspect of the business."
