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Tech leader Josh Rowe has an interesting take on the push by corporate Australia to reap the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In a post on his SubStack he asks: “As generative AI transforms business, the Chief AI Officer is rising. Should your company make the hire now?”
Unlike most tech bods, Rowe starts with a note of sobriety: “not everyone agrees this role is essential or even practical”.
The Harvard Business Review called many chief AI or data officers “set up to fail” due to unclear mandates and poor integration and David Mathison, founder of the CDO Club added “fully half of the 1,800 CAIOs on LinkedIn are unqualified … a little gimmick”.
But Rowe sees a place for leadership:
“Until recently, AI was seen as a tool for the tech team or the data science function. That time is over. Generative AI is now embedded in everyday operations—from marketing to customer service to compliance. As AI accelerates in impact and complexity, many businesses are starting to realise they have no single point of leadership to drive alignment, accountability, and cultural integration.”
He’s got some interesting thoughts on what the role is and, importantly, is not. The rest of this post is verbatim.
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What a Chief AI Officer Does
This isn’t a technical role. Nor is it just a data science lead with a rebranded title. A strong CAIO:
- Drives company-wide AI strategy
- Sets and enforces usage, ethical, and data policies
- Helps departments redesign workflows, not just add tools
- Interfaces with legal, security, ops, and external partners
- Evangelises internally and externally to reduce friction and build AI literacy
In short, they’re the translator and catalyst between innovation and operations.
The best ones? They’re not just smart. They’re trusted. They cut through hype, unblock resistance, and make the complex changes doable.
What CEOs Get Wrong About This Role
Here’s the mistake too many CEOs are already making: they pick someone internal, slap “AI” on their title, and call it a strategy. But AI transformation isn’t cosmetic. It’s structural.
This person can’t be halfway committed. They cannot simply “own the AI roadmap” and sit under IT. They need to have teeth, reporting directly to the CEO or COO, with the charter to challenge embedded norms.
If you’re going to rebrand someone internally, invest in their education, empower their mandate, and support them publicly. Otherwise, you’re creating a bottleneck, not a leader.
Is This a Permanent Role?
Probably not. And that’s okay.
The CAIO is a medium-term transformation role, typically lasting 5 to 10 years. After that, AI will be so deeply embedded in every function that the CMO, COO, CFO, and CHRO will all be expected to lead AI within their domains.
