Our favorite question from customers: where should CAIO be placed (in the org chart)? Our standard answer: nowhere.
Your company does NOT need a Chief AI Officer. Just as little as it needed a CDO: Chief Data Officer.
You can’t separate the two: data and analytics/AI.
Without data, analytics/AI are useless.
Without analytics/AI, data is worthless.
If you want to hire a dedicated chief officer, then please hire a CDAIO:
“Our view is that a combined role—what we call the CDAIO (Chief Data, Analytics, and AI Officer)—will best prepare organizations as they plan for AI going forward.”
Their responsibilities:
✔️ Owning the AI strategy.
✔️ Preparing for a new class of risks.
✔️ Developing the AI technology stack for the company.
✔️ Ensuring the company’s data is ready for AI.
✔️ Creating an AI-ready culture.
✔️ Generating significant ROI for the company.
Thanks to Vipin Gopal, Thomas H. Davenport, and Randy Bean for the shoutout:
👉 https://hbr.org/2025/12/why-your-company-needs-a-chief-data-analytics-and-ai-officer
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