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Editor’s note: This article is based on insights from May’s CIO Dive virtual event. you can Watch sessions on demand.
CIOs are no longer just back-office technology experts who keep the lights on. Instead, AI has disrupted that role, turning technology leaders into intelligence orchestrators responsible for connecting platforms and ecosystems and turning insights into action.
That’s according to a panel of speakers during Wednesday’s CIO Dive virtual event. How AI is reshaping enterprises. With rapidly evolving technology, put the CIO in the spotlight Because CEOs are looking to technology leaders for answers on how to implement AI in a way that makes sense for their business. 8 out of 10 CIOs have saw their role expand We help you achieve your business goals with more third management According to income statement Deloitte.
The traditional CIO role focused on aligning technology strategy and overall business goals to drive value, execute and attract talent to achieve business outcomes. Naveen Manga, Global CIO of Marriott Internationalsaid during a virtual panel discussion.
“But with the advent of AI, that paradigm has been fine-tuned.” manga Said. “The role of the CIO is becoming an orchestrator of intelligence.”
Today, CIOs are moving beyond information technology and focusing more broadly on enterprise technology, working with companies to understand how to not only deliver business outcomes but also increase revenue, reduce costs, and excite customers. May Yap, senior vice president and global CIO of manufacturing company Jabil, said during the virtual event..
AI has created new leadership characteristics that define CIOs, not just savvy with new technology. Yap Island Said.
“It’s the baseline. It’s not the differentiator.” Yap Island Said. “The differentiator for CIOs is how they actually see business problems, how they actually help solve business problems, and whether they rethink or reimagine how things need to be done.”
CIO scales AI
For Marriott, 2025 was a year of AI experimentation, learning, and piloting. manga Said. This year is about it Expanding technology.
Marriott takes an intentional approach to AI use cases, focused on unlocking value for guests, employees, and owners.
“The goal is not to put AI in your pocket,” he said. “We’re not distributing our efforts. We’re integrating everything into this portfolio approach of creating and delivering value across three customer personas.”
For our guests, manga He said his team is working on an agent and generative AI interface for desktop and mobile apps, expected to be released at the end of the second quarter of 2026, to support complex queries such as hotels near the beach, hotels near the boardwalk, and whether there are babysitters in the area.
Manga’s The team is also working on building a single pane of interface and technology to provide data to front desk employees. On the other hand, for the owner, Manga”‘s efforts are focused on creating a platform that provides insights into hotel operations.
in Jabiru, Yap Island She said she also focuses on scale. While creating an AI pilot in one manufacturing plant is a simple task, she said she wants to be able to replicate the project across the company’s global manufacturing network.
“Our focus now is to industrialize all these AI projects and turn experiments into things that are reproducible, reliable, and embeddable into daily work,” she said.
Looking ahead, manga He said he was preparing for a world with hundreds of thousands of people. digital agent workerempowering and assisting the human owners of those agents.
“That requires a completely different way of thinking and intertwined technologies that can safely coordinate this collection of future agents,” he said.
