To that end, Eric Sigurdson, who leads the CIO practice at leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds, says many CIOs at large organizations have a ways to go. “So far, we’re seeing much more evidence of productivity improvements than radical process redesign,” he says.
Responsible — and accountable — for outcomes
CIOs also find themselves under a different kind of scrutiny. There is “far greater focus on whether AI investments generate measurable business value rather than simply proving technical feasibility,” says TransUnion’s Joshi, noting that CIOs are now expected to show how technology accelerates growth, improves customer experiences, boosts productivity, and creates new revenue streams.
Uptime, delivery timelines, security posture, and project completion are now table stakes, adds TIAA’s Durvasula. More than just baseline metrics, he wants to know IT’s downstream impacts — such as whether a workflow that involved five hand-offs now requires two or a process that took weeks now takes days. “I don’t accept an AI success story told to me in technology terms anymore,” he says.