This article is part of a series on the future of AI and executive leadership. Previously, “Why AI Ambitions Are Outpacing Reality at an Alarming Rate,” explored the brewing AI readiness crisis revealed in Riviera Partners’ Future of Tech Leadership 2025 report. This follow-up looks at how AI is rewriting the technology org chart—and what that means for leadership readiness.
3 Takeaways
- Companies are expanding or creating new executive roles—but many remain cautious about bold org chart changes.
- Chief AI Officer and hybrid titles like CPTO are emerging, yet questions of reporting lines and influence remain.
- Boards and investors are playing a decisive role in accelerating executive restructuring to meet AI-era demands.
In a recent article, we highlighted the brewing AI readiness crisis, where only 2% of companies are structurally prepared to scale AI at an enterprise level. That analysis, drawn from Riviera Partners’ Future of Tech Leadership 2025 report, revealed a widening gap between ambition and execution.
But the readiness story doesn’t stop there. As AI becomes central to corporate strategy, it is also rewriting the technology org chart—forcing executives, boards, and HR leaders to rethink how power and accountability are distributed at the very top.
Expanding Roles, Reluctant Shifts
The report shows most organizations are taking a cautious approach: rather than creating entirely new roles, 62% are expanding the responsibilities of existing executives to cover AI and data initiatives. For example, Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) are increasingly tasked with overseeing AI strategy, often on top of already demanding remits.
By contrast, just 39% of companies have created net-new AI-specific leadership roles such as Chief AI Officer (CAIO) or Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO). And even where those titles exist, influence is uneven: only 53% of CAIOs report directly to the CEO, raising questions about whether these positions carry true strategic weight.
The Rise of the Chief AI Officer
Among the most telling developments is the slow but steady rise of the Chief AI Officer. Twenty-one percent of companies surveyed now report having a CAIO, though the title is far from universal. High-readiness firms are three times more likely to have installed such a role, often accompanied by clearer ownership of AI initiatives and stronger board engagement.
Yet, the report suggests the CAIO is still in a formative stage: reporting structures vary widely, and scope often blurs with data or engineering leads. The role’s eventual shape may determine whether AI is treated as a central strategic function or relegated to a silo.
Boards and Investors Are Driving Change
Organizational redesign is not happening in isolation. Nearly half of respondents (47%) say board or investor pressure is influencing shifts in executive responsibilities, and one in three expect a full org redesign in the year ahead.
Private equity–backed companies appear particularly aggressive, with more than half planning to restructure leadership and add new roles. This contrasts with venture-backed firms, where AI responsibilities are most often folded into the CTO role, sometimes leaving leaders overstretched.
New Patterns, Emerging Tensions
The Future of Tech Leadership 2025 report also captures how early AI adopters are experimenting with cross-functional models. Product, engineering, design, and data are increasingly blended under unified leadership. While these structures can improve speed and alignment, they also raise new questions: Who ultimately owns AI strategy? How should reporting lines adapt as AI becomes embedded across every function?
Why the Org Chart Matters for Readiness
The link between org design and readiness is not theoretical. Riviera’s Organizational Design Readiness Index shows that high-readiness companies are:
- 3x more likely to create AI-specific executive roles
- Far more likely to centralize hiring decisions
- More consistent in embedding AI accountability at the board level
These structural moves don’t just signal intent; they build the scaffolding that allows AI to scale beyond pilots and prototypes. In other words, the org chart is the frontline in the readiness battle.
From Crisis to Redesign
Taken together, the findings suggest that AI is both exposing weaknesses in existing org structures and forcing new ones into place. The readiness crisis may dominate headlines, but the quiet reconfiguration of leadership roles is the mechanism by which companies will—or won’t—close the gap.
As boards push for faster alignment and companies grapple with the limits of legacy models, the org chart is becoming less of a static diagram and more of a strategic weapon.
This article is part of our series on AI and executive leadership. In the next installment, we explore how AI is reshaping compensation, hiring models, and what today’s leaders expect from their roles.
Explore the Full Report and Benchmark Your Readiness
The Future of Tech Leadership 2025 report dives deeper into these trends, with data from more than 1,000 senior executives on how AI is reshaping org design, hiring, and leadership expectations.
Readers can also take the AI Organizational Readiness Quiz, a quick assessment to see how their own org structure compares to peers and whether it’s positioned to support AI at scale.
👉 Download the full report and take the readiness quiz to explore how your org chart stacks up in the AI era.
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. Learn more at www.rivierapartners.com.