The Heller Report Special Edition: CIO Leadership Today

The recent rise in chief AI officer hirings reflect a lack of confidence in CIOs, writes Ryan Pehrson, CEO of management and technology advisory firm Pharynos. Boards would do better to focus on clarifying executive responsibilities. He writes: “Companies that outperform on digital initiatives share a trait that has little to do with org charts or titles. They give the right leader a mandate that matches the scope of the problem, and decision rights that stick.”

Vijay Sankararaman, chief AI officer at Novant Health is using AI to reshape how care is accessed, delivered, and supported, while establishing the CAIO as a catalyst for rethinking how the organization operates. “Transformation for us is about reimagining the patient experience, ease of use for clinicians, and value-add from our operations. That is our AI lens,” he tells Martha Heller in this CIO.com article.

After six decades in IT leadership, Charlie Feld, founder of The Feld Group Institute, argues that the CIO role is more critical than ever—if these leaders can serve as chief integration officers. “The CIO can't control everything,” Feld writes. “But they can and must establish data, standards, and integration points—and rally other leaders and groups around them. The goal isn't to stop innovation. It's to make innovation possible at scale.”

Prakash Kota, CIO of UKG, the HR platform used by 80,000 organizations in 150 countries, explains to Martha Heller for this article in CIO.com how his company uses agentic AI, voice agents and other innovations to better serve frontline workers, and why the CIO-CHRO partnership is critical. “And as HR leaders help business leaders think through their roadmap for talent —  both human and AI — IT leaders can equip them with exactly that intelligence,” Kota says.