As AI continues to evolve, the leadership roles your company needs will shift quickly.
As AI reshapes industries, disrupts business models, and redefines customer expectations, companies must prepare for the next wave of AI leadership. To stay competitive, companies need to anticipate the leadership roles that will emerge as AI matures—roles that not only drive AI adoption, but also address the growing demands for ethical governance, measuring ROI, and sustainability in a data-driven world.
In this excerpt from our State of AI Leadership report, we explore the prominent AI roles your company may need by 2030 and why these positions may be needed at your company sooner than later.
Chief AI Ethics Officer: Ensuring Responsible AI
From concerns about algorithmic bias to data privacy, companies will face mounting pressure from regulators, consumers, and investors to ensure their AI initiatives are ethical and transparent. A Chief AI Ethics Officer (CAIO) will oversee the development of ethical AI frameworks, ensuring accountability and compliance across all AI projects.
The rise of AI-driven systems in industries like finance and healthcare, where fairness and accuracy are critical, will require ethical oversight to prevent reputational damage and regulatory fines. With the growing scrutiny on AI’s societal impact, this role will become essential for safeguarding public trust in AI.
As companies face increasing regulatory pressure and public scrutiny, ethical AI leadership will play a pivotal role in ensuring that AI systems are fair, transparent, and aligned with societal values.
Chief Security AI Officer: Safeguarding AI Systems from Cyber Threats
As AI becomes more embedded in critical systems, cybersecurity risks also grow. AI systems are prime targets for cyberattacks, data breaches, and manipulation. The Chief Security AI Officer (CSAO) will handle defending AI systems against emerging threats and ensuring that these systems stay secure and resilient.
AI is a double-edged sword. While it can enhance security, it can also be weaponized by malicious actors. Industries like finance, healthcare, and government, where data sensitivity is paramount, will require a CSAO to ensure their AI systems are protected against adversarial attacks, safeguarding both data and proprietary algorithms.
With the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks on AI models, this role will be crucial for ensuring the integrity of AI systems and maintaining compliance with security standards across industries.
ROI Analytics Lead: Measuring the Value of AI Investments
As companies continue to increase their AI investments, the pressure to prove ROI will intensify. The ROI Analytics Lead will track and measure the success of AI initiatives, ensuring that these projects generate tangible business outcomes—whether through cost savings, efficiency gains, or new revenue streams.
By 2030, AI spending is projected to exceed $500 billion annually. With such high investment levels, stakeholders will demand clear, quantifiable results from AI projects. The ROI Analytics Lead will be instrumental in bridging the gap between technical teams and business leaders, ensuring that AI investments deliver measurable value.
For companies looking to maximize their AI initiatives, this role will be critical in providing the data and insights needed to guide business decision-making and align AI strategies with broader business goals.
AI Sustainability Strategist: Aligning AI with ESG Goals
The role of the CISO has shifted from a reactive risk manager to a proactive, strategic business leader. Cybersecurity is now a fundamental aspect of business strategy, not just risk mitigation. For today’s CISO, success means aligning security strategies with the company’s overall growth plans, helping the organization not only stay secure but also drive innovation and business transformation.
For example, in a recent placement with a leading global tech company, the CISO had to oversee a global security strategy that spanned multiple international teams. This leader was tasked with developing a security infrastructure that could scale with the company’s expansion into new markets while ensuring compliance with regional regulations like GDPR. Their ability to integrate security with product development and business growth was crucial to the company’s success.
This type of strategic alignment is essential in today’s business world. The CISO role is no longer just about securing networks—it’s about creating a security culture that supports innovation while enabling sustainable business growth.
AI Sustainability Strategist: Aligning AI with ESG Goals
As global pressure to address climate change and sustainability intensifies, AI will play a central role in helping companies meet their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. The AI Sustainability Strategist will leverage AI to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance supply chain transparency, while aligning with corporate ESG strategies.
In industries like manufacturing, where energy consumption and emissions are major concerns, AI-driven solutions such as carbon footprint tracking and energy optimization algorithms are already making a difference. By 2030, AI Sustainability Strategists will be essential in guiding companies to integrate these technologies and meet investor and consumer demands for sustainability.
Practical Next Steps for C-suite Executives
- Evaluate Your Current AI Leadership Team: Begin by assessing whether you need to add new roles like a Chief AI Ethics Officer or Chief Security AI Officer to your leadership team. Consider how your company’s current AI strategy aligns with ethical, security, and sustainability goals.
- Align AI with Business Strategy: Make sure that AI initiatives are not isolated from the broader business strategy. Roles like the ROI Analytics Lead will help ensure that AI projects deliver measurable business value.
- Invest in Leadership Development: For existing talent, invest in leadership development programs that can help your teams grow into these emerging roles. This is particularly important in areas like AI ethics and sustainability.
Practical Next Steps for HR Talent Heads
When it comes to recruiting for C-level AI leadership roles, many companies don’t often post these positions publicly. Instead, they tend to build relationships with potential candidates directly or through their networks. For HR talent heads, this means shifting the focus from posting job openings to proactively engaging with top talent through multiple channels. Here are a few real-world strategies companies are using to build their AI leadership teams:
- Publish a Clear AI Vision: Top companies are making sure their AI vision is clearly communicated on careers pages and in executive blogs. By doing so, they attract AI talent who is aligned with the company’s goals. A clearly defined vision helps to make the organization an attractive destination for AI leaders who are looking for purpose-driven roles.
- Host Executive Roundtables and Fireside Chats: Hosting VP and C-suite-level AI roundtables and fireside chats is a great way to foster relationships with top talent. These events allow for deeper engagement with prospective leaders and provide a platform to discuss the company’s AI direction and the challenges it faces.
- Launch “AI in Practice” Fellowships: Some companies are setting up 6-12 month AI fellowships, providing dedicated budgets for participants to work on AI projects in real-world contexts. These fellowships allow organizations to see how potential leaders handle complex challenges and can help identify the next generation of AI leaders.
- Co-Create Research Grants and Challenge Prizes: Collaborating with top computer science and AI departments to create joint research grants and challenge prizes helps companies stay connected with the cutting-edge developments in AI while also attracting top-tier AI talent from academia. This builds both industry credibility and relationships with leaders in the AI field.
- Invest in AI Academies: A growing trend is the investment in branded AI academies offering masterclasses, peer cohorts, and capstone projects. These initiatives help upskill internal talent while creating a pipeline of future AI leaders. Companies that offer such academies demonstrate their long-term commitment to AI leadership development.
- Comparing Sustainability and ROI Roles: As companies build their AI leadership teams, AI Sustainability Strategists and ROI Analytics Leads both play key roles in ensuring AI initiatives align with business goals. While the Sustainability Strategist focuses on integrating AI into environmental initiatives, the ROI Analytics Lead tracks the measurable impact of AI projects. Both roles are critical in balancing innovation with accountability and ensuring that AI projects deliver tangible value across the business.
Preparing for the Future of AI Leadership
Now is the time to assess which AI leadership roles your company will need in the future. For a deeper look at how these roles will shape the future of AI leadership, explore our State of AI Leadership report, which provides actionable insights into the key trends and leadership roles that will define AI’s impact on business in the next decade.
About Riviera Partners
Riviera Partners is a global executive search firm specializing in technology, product, and design leadership. With over two decades of experience and a proprietary platform that combines deep recruiting expertise with data-driven insights, Riviera is the go-to talent partner for venture capital, private equity, and public companies. Let’s talk.
