[SINGAPORE] It is an active market for a global role in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), with several top-level appointments reported in recent months.
“We're looking forward to seeing you in a new business,” said Akshay Mendon, head of EMA Partners, Singapore's executive search company. “The technology-enabled business first appeared in the post, but there has been a huge surge in demand (AI-related jobs) from traditional companies in product manufacturing and energy and logistics.”
Top-level AI-related appointments in the past few months include the appointment of Sandeep Sakharkar as Chief Digital Officer in May.
This position is newly established at SATS, and in a statement said: “The role of SATS's Chief Digital Officer is to lead the development and implementation of SATS' digital strategies.”
According to a company's spokesperson, the best digital officers are also expected to ensure seamless integration of advanced data analytics, automation, AI and operational excellence.
Cheng Wan Hua, head of Southeast Asian talent analytics at professional services firm Aon, noted that demand for AI-related services is more pronounced in financial services, professional services, logistics and healthcare.
BT in your inbox
Deliver the latest news stories and analysis directly to your inbox, starting and ending daily.
She added: “We expect that the majority of Asia-Pacific organizations currently have roles that require AI skills. These roles deviate from the traditional belief that these roles are primarily in the field of data science and engineering.”
These regional or global senior level appointments are not surprising. Globally, companies have announced advanced recruitment in this area. Estee Lauder of semiconductor giants Intel and Cosmetics Company is the latest in setting new leadership positions in AI and digital transformation. Even the White House ordered federal agencies to name the top AI officers.
Another recent appointment in the region came on Standard Chartered, which announced on Monday (June 2) that he has been appointed global head of Yusuf Demiral in the wealth and retail banking data, analytics and AI sector.
Demiral will lead the expansion of banks' AI capabilities in the wealth and retail banking sector in this newly created role, a spokesman said.
In April, the bank announced that it would appoint David Hauteon as global head of another newly created role: AI Enablement.
Banks are also employing SC GPT, a generative AI tool that increases operations and productivity, coordinates sales and marketing efforts and increases bank revenue, the spokesman said.
These appointments include a global or regional focus on AI and digital operations, observers noted. Apart from Hiling, efforts are underway to build the expertise of AI professionals.
Mendon of EMA Partners said at least half of the client base of traditional sector-based executive search companies have already set up or have taken steps to do so.
Consulting company Deloitte announced the launch of APAC Agent AI Center of Excellence on Tuesday.
Agent AI allows AI agents to work independently, coordinate workflows, learn and adapt over time, Deloitte said.
Deloitte is not the only consulting company that has its toes dipped into Agent AI. On Wednesday, EY announced EY Studio+, a provider of Agent AI.
A spokesman for a professional service company says that working with clients in the industry from tourism and hospitality to healthcare, the studio brings specialized skills in design, sales, marketing and customer experimental techniques to the table, combining it with 37 companies that have acquired organically grown EY businesses.
Aon's Cheng predicted that agent AI will be a trend in the near future. “Agent AI strengthens human roles and requires new job architectures and performance metrics,” she said.
Despite growing demand for AI-related employment in various industries, talent companies are wary of the risks of a bloated AI workforce.
Mendon said:
His advice: First, you are hired based on several important business-related AI use cases at the national or regional level, and only hire personnel carefully afterwards.
Cheng said, “Perform the measured procedure and avoid the extremes of over-centered or fragmented experiments.
“Decisions should be made based on available data, such as market benchmarks and historical evidence.”
She added that aside AI-related experiences, it is also important that job seekers have relevant soft skills, such as being able to continuously learn and handle changes.
She picked out critical thinking as one of the most important soft skills she owned.
Mendon believes that having a strong learning agility is essential to staying relevant to the workforce.
