The article discusses how the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is rapidly changing in the age of generative and agentic AI, marking what the author calls an “existential moment” for technology leaders. Traditionally, many CIOs have spent most of their time and budgets on sustaining legacy systems, yet the rise of AI — expected to contribute trillions to global GDP — means organizations must change how they operate. With nearly all enterprises planning to build their own AI and data platforms, CIOs face pressure to shift from maintaining stability to driving innovation and AI strategy at the executive level.
One key theme of the article is sovereign AI — the idea that organizations should build AI and data infrastructure that is owned, controlled, and governed by the enterprise itself, rather than relying on external cloud or vendor ecosystems. Leading companies that succeed with AI are reportedly doing so by prioritizing sovereign design, hybrid architectures, and rigorous governance, allowing secure access to data and AI models and reducing reliance on single-cloud providers. In these success stories, CIOs and CTOs act as architects shaping how AI is embedded across business functions.
The article breaks down four practices that set successful, AI-driven enterprises apart — from building hybrid AI systems that avoid vendor lock-in to measuring return on investment (ROI) in broader ways across operations, innovation, revenue, and adoption. Rather than focusing on a handful of high-impact use cases, the organizations leading in AI deployment expand across many areas and create what the authors describe as an “agentic flywheel effect,” where success in initial cases drives momentum for broader adoption.
Ultimately, the piece emphasizes that the future of the CIO role depends on stepping away from legacy maintenance and into strategic leadership. CIOs who can build sovereign AI foundations, champion hybrid environments, and measure broad value are positioned to influence boardroom decisions and help their enterprises compete in a world where AI — and control over data and intelligence — is central to business success.
