- Three quarters of companies now have a CAIO, compared to a quarter
- After overhauling the C-suite, middle management is now the focus
- Workers also need upskilling and retraining
A new IBM study of 2,000 global CEOs claims that AI is forcing companies to rethink their leadership structures, decision-making processes and overall operating models as businesses become increasingly automated.
In 2025, only a quarter (26%) of companies surveyed had a Chief AI Officer (CAIO), but this year the situation has reversed, with three-quarters (76%) now saying they have a CAIO in place.
As a result, those with an AI-focused C-suite structure reportedly scaled 10% more AI initiatives than their counterparts, suggesting that executive rewiring plays an influential role in a company’s success with its AI strategy.
Directors of AI and other AI roles are critical to AI success
Restructuring leadership is simple, however, compared to company-wide adoption. Currently, it is estimated that only 25% of employees regularly use AI at work, even though 86% of CEOs believe staff already have the skills to integrate AI into their workflows.
The next step after a C-suite shakeup is for middle managers to become technology experts in their own fields, say 85% of CEOs.
However, it took years for AI to be in the spotlight for companies to make the appropriate changes at the top, so organization-wide transformations could take much longer. CHROs will likely play a larger role in the coming years as workforce changes take place: between 2026 and 2028, 29% of employees are expected to need reskilling into different roles, and 53% are expected to need upskilling for their existing roles.
As for AI itself, CEOs predict it will autonomously make nearly half (48%) of operational decisions by 2030.
“CEOs who achieve real results through AI transformation are not only deploying AI faster, they are also rethinking their organizations to bring together the best people with the best technology,” concluded Mohamad Ali, senior vice president of IBM Consulting.
Gary Cohn, vice president of IBM, acknowledged that while CEOs have always been responsible for “leading[ing] Through disruption,” AI has increased “the velocity and consequences of leadership.”
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