The Emergence of the CAIO: Online Executive Roundtable
Amrop’s Global Digital Practice held its quarterly Online Executive Roundtable last week, this time on the topic “Leadership and the Emergence of the CAIO Role”.
This webinar was part of a larger study examining the leadership competencies essential for successfully integrating AI into organizations, as well as strategies for developing these skills. We invited leaders from midsize, PE-backed, family-owned and other companies, to share their real experiences in leveraging AI strategies for their organizations and customers.
Last week's webinar included two of our interviewees - Simo Dragicevic, founder of BetBuddy, and Geert-Jan van der Snoek, CEO at Sdu and Board Member at Lefebvre Sarrut SA – sharing their key learnings.
Building AI Leadership Competence
Simo Dragicevic has been an entrepreneur in the gambling industry since 2010 as founder of BetBuddy, a pioneer in data analytics and responsible gambling, and a member of the boards of Canada's Responsible Gambling Council and the GB Gambling Commission. Simo discussed the role of AI in the gambling industry, building a betting company using AI in the early days of Machine Learning, as well as building AI competence at different levels of company management. He also discussed the AI-related competencies required at board level and how to get the organization aligned around AI. He also touched on the subject of regulations around AI when it comes to public sector and government – the sensitivity of application required in a period where regulators are also still looking for guidance. He emphasized the importance of close involvement with academic institutions – scientists who are working on AI-related subjects as key collaborators for companies and their R&D departments.
Redefining clients’ business processes through providing them with AI-powered products
Geert-Jan van der Snoek, CEO at Sdu and Board Member at Lefebvre Sarrut SA, has experience across sectors as a CEO / Chief Transformation Officer / COO. He discussed acquiring and implementing AI solutions and how they change the way a company operates. He talked about a "process-approach" which is replacing an IT/Tech approach in the context of AI, as well as the financial impact of AI and the discussions around it that take place in boardroom and "chefsache".
He also shared insights on redefining clients’ business processes through providing them with AI-powered products, and changing clients' perspectives especially around the procurement chain. Finally, he also touched on the legal and tax ecosystem, where legal counsels now have access to the same knowledge and insights as legal or tax professionals through AI tools, and, as a result, the nature of these professions is undergoing fundamental changes.
The convergence of AI, geopolitics, Cybersecurity and Cloud
Another important topic discussed was the convergence of AI, geopolitics, Cybersecurity and Cloud, which have become especially strategic and complex in today’s landscape. "Due to the geopolitical tensions and new insights on autonomy in Europe and per country, considerable changes are pushed through in months instead of years", van der Snoek stated. "Cloud will become an EU or even national/on-prem Cloud which will have huge impact on AI models. The political and media discussion is going towards EU-based core software, and the on-prem Cloud and use of OpenAI discussion will dominate the board rooms this year."
Both Geert-Jan and Simo presented business cases and talked about AI’s impact on leadership skills, the necessary competencies and whether their respective organizations are becoming catalysts for disruption in the market with innovative AI-driven products and services.
The webinar was facilitated by Job Voorhoeve, leader of Amrop’s Global Digital Practice. To find out more, reach out to our speakers, Job Voorhoeve or the Digital Practice group member in your country.
Learn more about our latest Digitization on Boards report here.