As artificial intelligence (AI) transitions from fringe technology to strategic core, we are seeing CEOs confront a hard truth: adopting AI isn’t just about investing in tools—it’s about changing how leaders think and act. In our recent CEO Study, AI is becoming a defining element of enterprise strategy, yet its full business potential remains untapped by many.
The Rising Influence of AI in the Boardroom
Our study highlights a clear picture: AI is no longer a novelty—it’s the nucleus of business innovation. A staggering 64% of CEOs expect AI to reshape their business objectives in the next two years, with 68% foreseeing significant impacts on the core operations of their organisations. Top-performing leaders are even more bullish, with 72% anticipating AI will transform decision-making, customer experience, and operational resilience.
This marks a dramatic shift from prior years, when AI was largely seen as a tool for incremental efficiency. Now, it’s a strategic powerhouse capable of reinventing business models and completely redefining the processes that underpin their business.
Investment to Strategic Value
Despite sky-high expectations, only 52% of CEOs report deriving meaningful value from their generative AI investments—beyond basic cost reduction. This stark reality doesn’t reflect a shortfall in the capability of AI, but rather a behavioural gap in how it’s being adopted and embedded into the business, and their broader cultural readiness for such a transformative technology.
AI, in its most powerful form, is not just a tool—it’s a catalyst for business model reinvention, customer experience transformation, and product innovation. But these outcomes aren’t automatic. Organisations often invest heavily in infrastructure and models, whilst overlooking the human and cultural shifts required to unlock AI’s full potential.
Too many leaders still see AI as a bolt-on efficiency engine, rather than a shift to redefine their business. This narrow focus leads to siloed pilots, lack of cross-functional alignment, and underwhelming returns. What’s needed isn’t more technology—it’s a fundamental shift in leadership behaviour and mindset.
Leaders must move beyond passive experimentation and take an active role in championing AI adoption. This includes setting a clear strategic vision, fostering a culture of responsible innovation, and leading with adoption in the boardroom alongside upskilling their teams. Without this shift, even the most advanced AI tools will underperform—stalling initiatives before they have the chance to truly transform the enterprise.
Behavioural Shifts that Must Be Embraced
To fully unlock AI’s potential, business leaders must pivot from reactive experimentation to proactive reinvention. The three most important behavioural priorities are:
- Data-Driven Implementation: Leaders must champion a robust, connected data environment. Siloed systems dilute AI’s effectiveness. A harmonised data architecture empowers AI to identify opportunities, spot inefficiencies, and scale innovation.
- ROI-Focused Innovation: The metric for AI success is shifting. Instead of vague potential or long-tail transformation, leaders must set measurable goals linked to revenue growth, market share, or operational agility. Innovation must be tied directly to business outcomes.
- Continuous Learning Culture: AI evolves fast—and so must the organisations that use it. Leadership must foster cultures of experimentation, feedback, and adaptation, where failure isn’t feared, but fast-tracked into iteration.
Building AI Success Through Talent
People—not just technology—will drive transformation. While 67% of CEOs say competitive differentiation depends on the right expertise in critical roles, 54% are hiring for AI-specific positions that didn’t even exist a year ago – talent strategy has officially become business strategy. But the path forward isn’t simple: 31% of today’s workforce will require reskilling within the next three years, and traditional hiring and training methods simply can’t keep up with the pace of change. AI is in a transformational stage that needs focused investment and teams enabling it to become the pervasive enabler to all future change.
To address this challenge, businesses must take a proactive and strategic approach to upskilling. By leveraging personalised learning paths, organisations can craft bespoke AI cross-skilling programs tailored to the unique demands of each role—beginning with targeted skills assessments and expanding into a curated mix of online courses, immersive workshops, and guided mentorship. Learning shouldn’t remain theoretical- embedding real-world AI projects into the curriculum ensures employees not only learn, but actively apply, experiment, and innovate. This kind of hands-on experience fosters both technical mastery and workplace confidence—empowering professionals to turn insight into impact from day one.
To stay competitive and future-ready, companies should adopt the “Build, Buy, Bot, Borrow” framework:
- Build: Reskill existing employees with AI-critical capabilities
- Buy: Hire externally to close immediate talent gaps
- Bot: Automate repetitive tasks and redeploy human talent to higher-value work
- Borrow: Collaborate with academic institutions, consultancies, or startups for on-demand expertise
This flexible talent strategy balances innovation with responsibility, enabling organisations to evolve their workforce while keeping their edge in a rapidly shifting landscape.
Reinvention at the Top
AI is not merely a tool—it must be a catalyst. The CEOs who thrive in the AI era won’t just be early adopters of technology—they’ll be pioneers of new leadership behaviours. From embedding data-centric decision-making to overhauling talent strategies, transformation is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a leadership imperative.
Success will belong to those who embrace reinvention over iteration, shifting their mindset from operational enhancement to enterprise evolution. The question is no longer whether AI belongs in the boardroom—it’s whether the boardroom is prepared to rewire itself to lead it.
C-suite leaders must act now. That means shaping a clear AI vision, championing behavioural change from the top, and cultivating the talent and culture to support it. Anything less risks leaving innovation on the table—and the business behind and opening the door to competition that’s moving quickly.
