Dive Brief:
- Pfizer added Berta Rodriguez-Hervas to its digital leadership team this week as its chief AI and analytics officer, the pharmaceutical company confirmed to CIO Dive Tuesday in an email.
- Rodriguez-Hervas joined the company after stints at motor vehicle manufacturer Stellantis, chip giant Nvidia and electric carmaker Tesla with roles focused on algorithms, computer vision and ML, according to her LinkedIn.
- “I am confident that Berta's leadership and fresh perspective will continue to take our enterprise AI strategies and capabilities to the next level to accelerate our purpose of breakthroughs that change patients' lives,” Pfizer EVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer Lidia Fonseca said in a LinkedIn post Monday.
Dive Insight:
As businesses move from experimentation to implementation, enterprises are seeing the value in a dedicated C-suite member tasked with aligning AI initiatives with company strategy.
Chief AI officers can serve as a point person for guiding growing investments in the technology and widening the scope of related initiatives. A dedicated AI executive also underlines the business’ focus on AI to the market and employees.
The role has proliferated across industries in the last two years. GE HealthCare welcomed Chief AI Officer Parminder Bhatia in April 2023. Bhavesh Dayalji joined S&P Global as its chief AI officer in December 2023. Earlier this month, the financial data company laid out plans to upskill 35,000 workers with generative AI skills.
Boeing appointed an AI chief in March. Professional services firm PwC US appointed Dan Priest as chief AI officer last month as part of the firm’s efforts to accelerate internal adoption and help guide customer use. The public sector has also seen an influx of AI leadership positions, as tasked by President Joe Biden’s AI executive order in October.
A dedicated C-suite member for AI initiatives has its perks, but analysts say it’s not the right choice for every business.
“For most, a head of AI who is not at the C-suite level will be perfectly capable of managing the two key aspects of AI strategy execution: orchestration and multidisciplinary governance,” Gartner said in a March report.
KPMG appointed David Rowland as global head of AI in December 2023. The newly created role was designed to help drive and implement the company’s strategy, KPMG said. In the annual midyear tech executive reshuffle, AI adoption plans were also a factor driving the new hires.
CTOs and CIOs are still most often accountable for AI initiatives, according to Gartner’s research. But the technology is set to play a starring role in the future of C-suite dynamics, executives say. Collaboration between leaders will prove key.
