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<\/p>\n\u2022\t76% of surveyed organizations now have a Chief AI Officer, up from 26% a year ago<\/p>\n
\u2022\t59% of CEO respondents say the CHRO\u2019s influence will increase over the next few years<\/p>\n
\u2022\tNearly two-thirds of surveyed CEOs are comfortable using AI to help inform major strategic decisions <\/p>\n
May 4, 2026<\/p>\n
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ARMONK, N.Y., May 4, 2026 \u2013 A new global study from the IBM (NYSE: IBM<\/a>) Institute for Business Value finds that the accelerating pace of AI is pushing CEOs to redesign how C-suite roles are structured to drive greater business impact across the enterprise.<\/p>\n In the foreword of the study,\u00a0IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn\u00a0writes, \u201cThe CEO\u2019s role has always been to lead through disruption. What AI changes is the velocity and consequences of leadership. Enterprises that succeed will operate AI-first \u2013 not as a layer of technology, but as a new operating model. Decision cycles will compress. Boundaries between functions will dissolve. Advantage will accrue to those who can learn, adapt, and execute faster than their competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n The annual IBM CEO study<\/a>,* which surveyed 2,000 CEOs globally, shows that as AI becomes more pervasive in the enterprise, CEOs are under growing pressure to rethink how leadership teams operate, how decisions get made and how organizations are structured.<\/p>\n Among the key findings:<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is changing how work gets done, bringing people and software together in new ways, and it\u2019s changing how people come together in the workplace,\u201d said Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. “The CEOs delivering real results from AI transformation aren\u2019t just deploying AI faster, they\u2019re redesigning their organizations to bring together the best people with the best technology.\u201d<\/p>\n New challenges demand different kinds of leadership<\/p>\n
As CEOs turn to AI-driven decisions, governance and\u00a0controls\u00a0become more critical<\/p>\n
Organizations are betting on people to drive AI\u00a0success<\/p>\n
To view the full study, visit: https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/thought-leadership\/institute-business-value\/en-us\/c-suite-study\/ceo<\/a><\/p>\n The study also features industry perspectives from senior executives on how business leaders are responding to AI-driven change. A selection of these firsthand views are available in the addendum below.<\/p>\n *Study Methodology<\/p>\n The IBM Institute for Business Value, in cooperation with Oxford Economics, conducted a survey of 2,000 CEOs and equivalent senior leaders across 33 geographies and 21 industries from February to April 2026. The survey explored how leaders are redesigning business models, operating structures and execution capabilities in an AI-driven economy, with additional analysis examining how organizations translate AI ambition into enterprise-wide execution and business value.<\/p>\n The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM\u2019s thought leadership think tank, combines\u00a0global research and performance data with expertise from industry thinkers and leading academics to deliver insights that make business leaders smarter. For more world-class thought leadership, visit: www.ibm.com\/ibv<\/a>. To receive more insights, subscribe to the IdeaWatch newsletter: https:\/\/ibm.co\/ibv-ideawatch<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n About IBM<\/p>\n IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. \u00a0Visit\u00a0www.ibm.com<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n
\n\t76% of surveyed organizations have a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) in 2026, up from just 26% in 2025.
\n\tAnalysis\u00a0shows that\u00a0organizations with an AI-first approach to C-suite design have scaled 10% more AI initiatives enterprise-wide than their peers.
\n\t64% of surveyed CEOs say they\u00a0are\u00a0comfortable making major strategic decisions based on AI-generated input.\u00a0
\n\t83% of respondents agree that AI sovereignty is essential to business strategy, underscoring the importance of having the right controls as AI plays a larger enterprise-wide role.\u00a0
\n\tSurveyed CEOs say only 25% of the workforce is using AI regularly as part of their job, despite 86% believing their employees have the skills to collaborate with AI.
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\n\t85% of respondents say all functional leaders must become technology experts in their domain, signaling that AI accountability is expanding beyond specialized roles.\u00a0
\n\tAmong organizations with a CAIO, all surveyed CEOs expect\u00a0the influence of\u00a0the role to\u00a0increase\u00a0by 2030, alongside rising influence across every member of the C-suite.\u00a0
\n\t59% of surveyed CEOs say the CHRO\u2019s influence will increase over the next few years.
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\n\tBy 2030, surveyed CEOs expect 48% of operational decisions\u00a0where consistency and guardrails can be codified will be made by AI without human intervention, compared to 25% today.\u00a0
\n\t79% of executives surveyed confirm they are decentralizing decision-making, distributing accountability as AI plays a more significant role\u00a0enterprise wide.\u00a0
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\n\t83% of CEOs surveyed say AI success depends more on people\u2019s adoption than technology.
\n\tBetween 2026 and 2028, respondents\u00a0expect\u00a029% of employees\u00a0to\u00a0require reskilling for a different role and 53%\u00a0to\u00a0need upskilling to perform their current role more effectively.\u00a0
\n\tSurveyed organizations\u00a0that\u00a0redesigned five core business areas\u00a0—\u00a0technology, finance, HR,\u00a0operations\u00a0and cross-functional collaboration\u00a0—\u00a0are four times more likely to have delivered on business objectives.\u00a0
\n\t77% of respondents say talent and technology\u00a0leadership roles\u00a0are converging,\u00a0suggesting tighter integration between talent,\u00a0technology\u00a0and enterprise strategy.\u00a0
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