'They are mission-critical if you want to succeed five years down the road and still be around': Canadian academic on role of CAIO
As generative AI moves from pilot projects to enterprise-wide deployments, a new C-suite role has emerged: the Chief AI Officer (CAIO).
According to the AWS 2025 Generative AI Adoption Index, 60 per cent of organizations have already appointed a CAIO, and another 26 per cent plan to do so by 2026.
There’s no going back. according to Nita Chhinzer, associate professor of leadership and organizational management at the University of Guelph, who says the CAIO is already an essential role in any organization that wants to stay relevant in the coming years.
“Maybe the label doesn't mean anything to you, but the tasks that they are completing are critical,” she says.
“They are mission-critical if you want to succeed five years down the road and still be around.”
Chhinzer notes that while AI has existed for decades, its sudden accessibility by employees has outpaced organizational governance. As companies realized that AI initiatives didn’t neatly fit under information technology or existing CIO mandates, they created a dedicated CAIO role to develop rules, guide privacy practices and embed AI in ways that align with corporate strategy and values.
The AWS report underscores this shift: nearly half of global IT decision-makers now rank AI spending above security in their 2025 budgets.
“Organizations began to recognize that their employees were using it or trying to access it, or even curious about it, without having any organizational guidance,” Chhinzer explains.
“It belongs in its unique category of really giving an idea about how we embed and have a symbiotic relationship with AI in our organization. What are the rules and regulations? How do we use it? How do we address privacy? And that's really been a large focus of the CAIO.”
The CAIO has three hybrid-based responsibilities, Chhinzer details: strategic, technical and ethical.
As she explains, under this three-pronged framework, the CAIO first asks “Should we enter this space?” – evaluating alignment between AI and core business goals. Second, they assess “Could we do this kind of work?”, weighing technical feasibility and the limits of current AI capabilities.
The AWS index reveals that ease of integration tops tool-selection criteria for 56 per cent of regulated organizations, but almost half still cite strong privacy and security as essential; the third aspect of the CAIO’s role is from an ethical standpoint, says Chhinzer: determining “Would we launch these programs?”, balancing profitability with responsible use.
The AWS report finds that while 90 per cent of enterprises have run generative AI experiments, only 44 per cent have advanced solutions into full production – an indicator that talent shortages and capability gaps persist.
“The CAIOs are very hard to find right now because of that blend between strategy, technical and ethical leadership,” Chhinzer says, emphasizing that few candidates possess the crucial combination of deep technical acumen, high-level business understanding and ethical judgment.
For organizations scoping CAIO roles, she suggests looking beyond pure coding skills: candidates must understand how to embed AI to decrease costs, boost efficiency or unlock new markets.
They also need the business savvy to converse fluently with other C-suite peers and the communication prowess to demystify AI for employees, investors and external stakeholders alike.
“This person needs to be able to … have cross-level conversations with the CIO, the CMO, the CFO, they have to have a greater level of business acumen,” Chhinzer says.
“Understanding not just their isolated silo of AI, but also how this works across the board,”
Chhinzer identifies agility as the cultural cornerstone for AI-driven enterprises – which is where the CHRO/CAIO relationship will find its crux; while the AWS index shows 45 per cent of respondents rating AI their top IT budget priority, HR must ensure that budgets translate into nimble teams and responsive processes.
That means fostering mindsets open to experimentation, feedback loops to capture learnings and transparent dialogue to address fears such as FOBO—fear of becoming obsolete—a concern cited by 92 per cent of firms planning AI hires.
“The role of HR in partnering with the CAIO and their team is really around talent development, so making sure that we have people who have the skills and the readiness for those skills to be used in the workplace,” Chhinzer says.
“That might include upskilling, mentoring, training – those kinds of things change readiness, which is ensuring that our employment population is ready for an unknown future that is a new direction, that maybe the CAIO is interested in taking us in, and then organizational culture.”
This expansive view of HR’s remit echoes the challenges reported by AWS: 56 per cent of organizations have launched internal AI training plans, but half still struggle to assess true skill needs. HR can lead that diagnostics process, Chhinzer says; mapping existing competencies against AI ambitions, designing tailored curricula and coordinating mentoring or rotational programs to build algorithmic literacy and systems thinking.
“The biggest word that we hear when it comes to the CAIO is agility.”
To support CAIO success, HR can partner with executives to amplify the CAIO’s presence in town halls, learning sessions and internal communications; visibility builds familiarity and trust, making it easier to tackle resistance head-on. The AWS report notes that regulatory and privacy concerns still weigh heavily for 48 per cent of organizations, highlighting the need for clear, frequent messaging on ethical guardrails and data practices.
“The best practices in organizations is to have high levels of visibility for the CAIO, especially because of the fear that some individuals have, and normalizing that and communicating that is quite effective,” Chhinzer says.
“I think a company that doesn’t have a CAIO role is really in a position where … they’re really missing that leadership and that thought and the understanding of how strategy, AI and ethics need to work together in the organization.”
Chhinzer warns that without a dedicated CAIO – or at least an empowered leader fulfilling the same functions – organizations risk fragmented AI initiatives that either stall at the pilot stage or spark ethical missteps.
HR can mitigate AI missteps by identifying internal candidates with algorithmic literacy, she says – those with strong numeracy, systems thinking and ethics sensibility – and providing cross-functional exposure to tech teams. External recruitment remains an option, particularly tapping consultants or startup veterans who have cut their teeth guiding AI strategy in smaller settings.
“They are expected to speak to their employees in terms that are understandable to the employees, inspirational, motivational and clear,” says Chhinzer.
“They're also expected to speak across the board of other C-suite executives, in ways that drive value … and influence them to align with the new initiatives that are being launched to the new realities of the workplace.”
Beyond internal audiences, CAIOs serve as the public face of their company’s AI strategy, she adds; whether fielding questions in shareholder meetings or speaking to industry media, they must the CAIO must be able to balance transparency with strategic positioning.
“The CAIO is a representative and agent of the organization,” Chhinzer says.
“They're often people who are interviewed in media, or people who have stakeholder relationships, shareholder meetings they're in, and so they really need to be able to speak to the masses who don't know AI as well, or who may be fearful of AI, and express what's going on using common language across these different stakeholders.”
By using common language and relatable examples, a CAIO can demystify AI, address fears—such as job displacement or privacy concerns—and build broader stakeholder buy-in. For HR, partnering with the CAIO on communication plans and training spokespeople across divisions is essential to maintain a unified narrative as AI adoption scales.
