The C-suite will create a new seat for the CAIO.
The emergence of the Chief AI Officer role is more than just a trend: it's a strategic move that will reshape the business technology job market.
According to LinkedIn, the number of companies with CAIOs, heads of AI or equivalent titles has more than tripled in the past five years, signaling growing recognition of the strategic business and technology importance of AI.
Amplifying this trend, President Biden's executive order last year aimed at addressing the complexities and potential of AI set the stage for this surge: Federal agencies are seeking more than 400 AI officers by the end of 2024 to meet these demands. To dig deeper, the Office of Management and Budget provided a comprehensive guide on hiring a Chief AI Officer and implementing this executive order, highlighting the urgency and importance of the role.
But the role of chief AI officer is not limited to the public sector: AI executive leadership roles span a variety of industries, from financial services to healthcare to semiconductors.
These new leaders are expected to significantly accelerate the pace of AI adoption across their organizations and make it more secure. This is a must. Accenture's 2024 CEO survey revealed that only 27% of CEOs believe their companies are fully prepared to adopt GenAI. By comparison, ChatGPT alone boasts hundreds of millions of downloads.
When to hire a Chief AI Officer
Does your company need a Chief AI Officer now? Or should it add additional AI talent, such as data scientists, machine learning engineers, and experts trained in AI applications and language models? This is a topic of intense debate in board meetings and leadership sessions everywhere.
Most agree that currently, organizational knowledge about AI and AI development is inadequate. Given its pervasiveness, potential benefits, and associated risks, it is critical to have a leadership-level executive who understands, plans, and oversees the execution of an AI strategy.
Here are three key criteria to consider when hiring an AI executive:
- The company's AI readiness and ambitions
- The size and complexity of the company, and where AI is being applied and where it will be applied in the future
- What role does AI play in your industry and the urgency to act?
Large enterprises and AI-specialized companies need leaders with the vision and responsibility to manage up, down and across the organization.
Although the title CAIO itself is hot right now, it doesn’t mean that every organization needs someone promoted to a C-level position.
Sal DiFranco, managing partner of DHR Global's emerging technologies practice, said he's seeing more talk about AI directors and vice presidents, which he likened to a decade ago when clients were looking to hire those levels of IoT expertise, who would eventually report to the CIO or CTO.
AI Chief Responsibilities
At a high level, the role involves bridging the gap between the all-important micro details of leveraging AI and the macro strategy of larger companies. The job has become much more common these days as companies look for guidance on how to leverage AI, a relatively new technology, to save time and improve productivity.
The CAIO role is broad. Most early examples focus on development and coordination across departments and teams to implement AI responsibly and with urgency. The cross-functional aspect of the role is critical because of the widespread impact of the AI models, applications, and use cases under consideration, and because governance requirements are unknown.
Looking at job postings on LinkedIn, the consensus on a CAIO’s primary responsibilities seems to be:
- Lead the development and oversight of AI strategy and implementation across the organization.
- Develop internal education programs to ensure proper training and keep leaders up to date on the rapidly changing AI market, opportunities and pitfalls
- Develop and oversee AI policies, governance and guidelines
- Hire and/or lead technical teams
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Essential skills for a Chief AI Officer
Because C-level AI professionals are still relatively new, it takes time to find the right people for these roles and to figure out what they'll be doing, which is why it's so important to have the right skills to help you achieve whatever your goals are.
A deep understanding of AI and technology is a must, but this professional shouldn't just be a technical expert: Ideally, they should combine AI technology competency, strategic vision, and C-level leadership.
“Historically, jobs have been defined by titles. But smart companies are starting to realize that jobs need to be defined as a collection of skills and tasks, not just a title,” LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said at Talent Connect last year. “And then start thinking about how those tasks will need to change as AI advances, and what new skills you'll need to be successful.”
Executives are looking for candidates who are experts in AI, of course, but also in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. Depending on the company, the CAIO may also need industry expertise, such as robotics in manufacturing or silicon in semiconductors.
Soft skills are also important, as AI is changing daily and its impact on the workforce is yet to be determined. The CAIO must know how to exert influence when working across multiple stakeholders and departments and know how to prioritize different corporate needs and stakeholder opinions within the organization. Finally, the AI chief must be able to explain technical topics to a non-technical audience, translating business needs into technology and communicating what is possible and what is real.
Finding a Chief AI Officer
Hiring a chief AI officer isn't easy. Not only is it a new role, but there are limited leaders familiar enough with AI to drive business and technology strategy and execution. “AI expertise is essential, but you need to look for someone with a proven track record of successfully leading new business and technology initiatives,” said one HR recruiter for AI.
One thing is clear: the AI race is on, and customers, executives, employees, and investors all have high expectations for AI's impact on business. Whether a company hires a CAIO right now or not, no business or technology leader wants to be left behind.
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