Essential skills and traits of chief AI officers

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence — especially generative AI — is prompting many organizations to hire or promote a chief AI officer (CAIO).

To date, many of these positions are with technology vendors or at government entities in the wake of recent AI mandates. But the ranks of the CAIO are expected to increase at enterprise organizations as well in the coming years.

Once hired, CAIOs are typically viewed as critical members of the C-suite. As such, they should have a proven track record of leading successful innovation programs and a clear understanding of how AI can transform the organization with ethics and governance in mind. They should lead the efforts to tie AI capabilities to data analytics and business process strategies and champion an AI-first mindset throughout the organization.

Driving business benefits

Companies seeking CAIOs are looking to reap myriad benefits from AI adoption, ranging from improved decision-making, to increased efficiency of business processes, higher-quality services, profitability, talent management, customer experience, and innovation. Given that range and anticipated impact, the stakes for appointing the right individual are huge.

“With AI ultimately being an enabler to deliver better business outcomes across all facets of business, the range and scope of knowledge and understanding of the CAIO is broad,” says Orla Daly, CIO of digital learning company SkillSoft. “It’s not just about the role of the CAIO, but how they can leverage broader skills and knowledge within an organization.”

At a high level, a CAIO will need to understand the business well enough to identify where AI can make an impact, whether through new value streams or optimization, Daly says. She also notes that CAIOs must have experience driving transformation, including leading culture change, and upskilling team members. They also need to understand the vitality of quality data for AI success, as well as governance frameworks to ensure responsible and ethical use of AI.

Core responsibilities of a relatively new role

We may be at the beginning of the rise of the chief AI officer, but organizations are quickly establishing expectations for the role. Companies want candidates who can drive innovation, deliver meaningful business results, and work closely with other leaders to manage risks.

To that end, CAIOs must break down silos and interact with a multitude of leaders in both lines of business and supporting functions, Daly says. They must collaborate with leaders to understand departmental needs, and integrate AI solutions that enhance productivity and decision-making. Collaboration also includes working with product teams on go-to-market opportunities.

CAIOs should also work closely with enabling units and project teams to deliver new AI capabilities. That includes IT, to align AI technologies with existing infrastructure; HR, on workforce development; finance, to understand funding and new business cost models; and legal and compliance, to ensure responsible use of AI.

And they must develop and upskill talent to ensure the workforce is well-versed in the innovation and risk associated with AI use.

“Being a champion of continuous learning and adaptability is essential to keep pace with AI’s rapid advancements,” Daly says. “For companies with a central strategy function, the CAIO will be a key partner in driving success.”

What sets top CAIOs apart

With such a broad mandate, CAIOs must possess strong leadership skills and be able to foster a culture in which team members communicate, collaborate, and build positive relationships effectively, especially given the complexity and pace of change involved with AI technologies, Daly explains.

“When CAIOs, leaders, and team members possess good power skills, they are more likely to understand and respect each other’s perspectives, work together toward common goals, and support each other through challenges,” Daly says. “This creates a positive and productive team culture where everyone feels valued and motivated to do their best work. While technology skills continue to be highly relevant and necessary for CAIOs and IT, power skills like adaptability and resiliency empower talent to grow as technology changes.”

Top CAIO candidates should also have a high-level view of AI technologies and capabilities, which is critical in knowing how to tie AI investments to drive transformation and achieve business goals.

“As a professor, neural computation is one of my research areas, so I understand the science driving AI advancement,” explains Mark Daley, chief AI officer at Western University in London, Ontario, one of the top 1% ranked universities globally. “My time as vice president of research at CIFAR gave me a broader view of the global AI landscape and afforded me the privilege of interacting with thought leaders like Turing award winners Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio. I also have experience as a technology leader, having served as Western’s chief information officer.”

Along with that high-level understanding, a successful CAIO should possess technical expertise to pair with strategic vision and the ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines and teams, says David Mathison, CEO of the Chief AI Officer Summit, CDO Summit, and CDO Club.

That means having a deep understanding of various AI technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and, where applicable, robotics, Mathison says. And they should have a proficiency in data science and analytics to effectively leverage data-driven insights and develop AI models. This includes skills in statistical analysis, data visualization, and predictive modeling.

Equally important, a CAIO should have knowledge of risk management principles and regulatory compliance requirements related to AI. That helps them ensure that AI initiatives adhere to legal and ethical standards.

For Mark McCreary, CAIO, CSO, and partner at Fox Rothschild, a national law firm with approximately 1,000 attorneys, data management expertise is crucial.

“The user views artificial intelligence as the output — what can come from the tool to improve the practice of law,” McCreary explains. “I have a different lens, which is the data involved with artificial intelligence. In my role, you have to understand how the technology uses that data before, while, and after delivering that output.”

As the firm’s attorney responsible for negotiating vendor contracts, McCreary addresses those issues at the contractual stage with a vendor. As a practicing attorney, he focuses on what skills are available and the quality and accuracy of the output. As CAIO and CSO, he focuses on the data that is shared, how it is used, and when it is destroyed.

“The combination of those skills, in one person, is the unique approach we have, and we see the benefits of that at all of those stages,” says McCreary, whose combined CAIO-CSO role is not an anomaly. Because of the newness of the role, many organizations are combining the CAIO role with another leadership position, including chief data officer and chief digital officer as well.

Intangibles and strategic skills

Because driving AI transformation is still somewhat in its infancy, candidates that demonstrate curiosity, adaptability, and the motivation to drive change can be well-suited to the role even in the absence of specific AI transformation experience. Sometimes that can be readily found within the organization.

“Given the scarcity of candidates, organizations may turn to cultivating this talent internally, developing leaders who have a firm grasp of company operations, leading teams, and understanding the technology, risks, and ethics of using AI,” Daly explains. “The CAIO should embody the ‘whole person’ approach and be well-versed across different learning disciplines, including technology, leadership, and risk management.”

The same can be said for AI talent in general, Daly stresses. She points to a Indeed, a recent SkillSoft survey, which found that 42% of IT leaders will be investing in AI training over the next five years to address AI skill gaps. Even at the CAIO level, it may not be all about finding the right experience, but finding the candidate with the right strategic and tactical skills — or the ability to acquire them — to be successful in the role.

Those skills touch on several technology, business, and communication areas, according to CDO Club’s Mathison, including:

• Alignment with business value and organizational goals
• Results-oriented leadership
• Financial management and ROI
• Innovation and creativity
• Ethical and responsible technology practices
• Risk management and compliance
• Stakeholder engagement and communication
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Long-term strategic planning

While experience driving business-led technology transformation is beneficial, what is even more valuable is knowing how to drive better outcomes with the combination of process, data, and technology change, SkillSoft’s Daly says.

“Nobody knows what a ‘perfect’ CAIO looks like yet; we’re still figuring it out,” Western University’s Daley says. “You need someone with enough technical knowledge to be able to keep up with the latest developments — which are unbelievably rapid — and sort the ‘real’ from the mirages. But you also need someone who understands business process; not just how the organization operates, but why it operates the way it does.”

“Process, culture, strategy — all of those are essential if you’re going to be successful,” Daley concludes.