5 C-suite alliances proving impact in the AI age

Agentic AI presents a rare opportunity. For all the impact that AI has already had on businesses, multi-agentic orchestration has the potential to transform the workflows that run across an entire enterprise. But because this next generation of AI cuts across all domains, executives need to work together to take full advantage.

AI is already forging deeper partnerships between C-suite roles. According to a recent analysis of current C-suite job descriptions by Talentfoot, an executive search firm, today’s top executive roles call for a combination of strategy, revenue accountability, data fluency and operational scaling capacity. For the best AI decisions, this trend toward executive collaboration across functions will clearly need to deepen and continue.

The challenge for leadership is intentionally redefining which executive relationships matter most. Here are five emerging executive alliances pointing the way to the AI-first enterprise.

The human resources function is ripe for AI, involving many repetitive processes that can now be automated. But because HR cuts across the whole company, its transformation requires extensive input from the information technology department. That means chief human resource officers working more closely than before with chief technology officers and chief information officers. IBM has experienced this shift by first applying AI to its internal functions, which executives call client zero.

In 2024, IBM’s HR question-and-answer chatbot, AskHR, handled more than 11.5 million interactions. Only 6% of those interactions needed to be routed outside the platform to a specialized HR partner. Employee satisfaction scores improved, as well. Meanwhile, because of 90 automations—and counting—embedded into AskHR, managers’ HR transactions are 75% faster. Better experiences at faster speeds reflect the benefits that can emerge when C-suite leaders partner closely.

AI requires significant financial investment, so the role of finance leaders has become highly strategic. According to recent research from the Financial Education & Research Foundation, 77% of CFOs identify themselves as “very involved” in enterprise-wide strategic decision-making. The same research found that 64% of organizations report active transformation initiatives driven by efficiency improvements, automation and AI. Faced with high-stakes judgment calls, CFOs need to work hand in hand with their peers in IT.

Together, CFOs, CIOs and CTOs can unlock—and, yes, measure—the company-wide business value from generative AI. For example, previous research by IBM found adopting AI has helped organizations lower sales forecast errors by 57%. Leading CFOs see CTOs as their most significant partners, with 72% listing CTOs as highly important or critical, according to additional IBM research. Finance and tech leaders should have a further chance to deepen their partnership as they oversee disciplined scaling of agent initiatives and investment.

Operations leaders are moving from automating tasks to orchestrating agentic AI systems. Nearly seven in 10 COOs report having adopted AI agents and are preparing to scale them across the enterprise, according to recent IBM research. The next step is coordinating multiple agents in an integrated operational platform, which appears poised for similarly widespread adoption; Gartner predicts 70% of AI apps will use multi-agent systems by 2028.

When done correctly, multi-agent orchestration offers a significant opportunity. Productivity, after all, means more than cost savings and efficiency. It also means creating self-funding mechanisms that enable investment in growth-driving innovation. But because multi-agent orchestration is a fundamental rewiring of how the entire enterprise operates, this opportunity also requires more intense cooperation. With orchestration—and a strong IT partnership—the role of operations can become a critical growth enabler.

Whether you’re managing the general counsel office or heading up AI or other tech implementation, you’ve seen legal risks mount around data. Legal is responsible for compliance: what jurisdictions are acceptable, what data movement is allowed and what contracts are secure. But geopolitical tensions, regulatory uncertainty and vendor lock-in risks have heightened focus on data sovereignty, the idea that data is governed by the laws of the country where it was generated.

In light of all these pressures, guaranteeing compliance around enterprise-wise embedded AI may seem constraining. Instead, thanks to the emerging cross-functional approach, compliance can be an enabler. Norie Campbell, CLO at Thomson Reuters, has described an AI-era shift for her position: “Legal is no longer reacting to the business, it’s helping shape its direction.” Breaking down outdated silos between legal and tech leadership should empower businesses to comply with shifting international laws.

C-suite leaders can best take on the AI age when their powers combine. Increasingly, that process requires a new role: the CEO sets the vision, while the CAIO orchestrates cross-functionally with input from the CIO, CHRO, CFO and CLO. According to new research from IBM, 76% of organizations now have a CAIO, up sharply from 25% just a year ago.

The CAIO works as a central coordinator. The particulars of the role may vary from company to company, but CAIOs are central to transformation. Research from The Futurum Group finds that organizations with a CAIO are almost three times more likely to reach the highest level of AI maturity. The need for a single point of coordination, working with the CEO and other executives, is clear: C-suite leaders, in coordination with each other, will guide the AI revolution.

Technological change requires organizational changes. C-suite roles built for a previous world are now required to co-own outcomes, whether that change is in automatic workforce management, capturing the value from emerging technologies or orchestrating AI agents. Data sovereignty isn’t just a legal matter. The CAIO sits at the center of it all.

As AI use cases continue to proliferate, enterprise success will no doubt depend on redesigned and cross-functional executive leadership.