Essential skills and traits of chief AI officers

As the firm’s attorney responsible for negotiating vendor contracts, McCreary addresses those issues at the contractual stage with a vendor. As a practicing attorney, he focuses on what skills are available and the quality and accuracy of the output. As CAIO and CSO, he focuses on the data that is shared, how it is used, and when it is destroyed.

“The combination of those skills, in one person, is the unique approach we have, and we see the benefits of that at all of those stages,” says McCreary, whose combined CAIO-CSO role is not an anomaly. Because of the newness of the role, many organizations are combining the CAIO role with another leadership position, including chief data officer and chief digital officer as well.

Intangibles and strategic skills

Because driving AI transformation is still somewhat in its infancy, candidates that demonstrate curiosity, adaptability, and the motivation to drive change can be well-suited to the role even in the absence of specific AI transformation experience. Sometimes that can be readily found within the organization.

“Given the scarcity of candidates, organizations may turn to cultivating this talent internally, developing leaders who have a firm grasp of company operations, leading teams, and understanding the technology, risks, and ethics of using AI,” Daly explains. “The CAIO should embody the ‘whole person’ approach and be well-versed across different learning disciplines, including technology, leadership, and risk management.”