Artificial intelligence is forging closer relationships between CIOs and CEOs and giving IT executives more business leadership responsibilities, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Sixty-three percent of technology leaders in the U.S. now report directly to the CEO, up from 52% in 2023 and 41% in 2015, according to Deloitte data cited in the June 12 story. This comes as health systems and other businesses have been exploring generative AI since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.
"Interest in generative AI at the commercial leadership level has never been higher around technology," Lou DiLorenzo Jr., principal and national U.S. CIO program leader at Deloitte, told the Journal. "Being at the table allows the tech executive or CIO to basically shape that narrative."
Meanwhile, fewer CIOs are reporting to the CFO (from 26% in 2015 to 12% in 2023, per Deloitte), reflecting a shift in the perception of IT from a cost center to a profit driver, according to the story.
For instance, Blue Shield of California CIO Lisa Davis started reporting to her CEO in 2022 so she could participate in conversations about the role of technology such as generative AI in revamping the company, the Journal reported. "That would have never happened if IT was sitting in a back office," Ms. Davis told the newspaper.