New research from the IBM Institute for Business Value shows 89% of surveyed regional organisations are embedding AI across multiple workflows, with two-thirds now appointing a Chief AI Officer.
A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value, drawing on insights from 100 surveyed CEOs in the Middle East, finds that the accelerating pace of AI is pushing chief executives to redesign how C-suite roles are structured to drive greater business impact across the enterprise.
Across the region, organisations are accelerating digital transformation and embedding AI into core business priorities. The findings point to a growing need for leadership teams that can connect technology, talent, and governance to deliver measurable value.
Some 67% of surveyed Middle East organisations now have a Chief AI Officer in 2026, while 89% of CEOs say they are actively embedding AI across multiple workflows to optimise end-to-end efficiency and effectiveness. More than two-thirds, 68%, say they are comfortable making major strategic decisions based on AI-generated input.
Writing in the foreword of the study, IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn said the CEO’s role has always been to lead through disruption, and that what AI changes is the velocity and consequences of leadership. He added that enterprises that succeed will operate AI first, not as a layer of technology but as a new operating model, with decision cycles compressing and boundaries between functions dissolving.
“Across the Middle East, CEOs are moving from AI experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation,” said Lula Mohanty, Managing Partner, Middle East and Africa, IBM Consulting.
“The organisations seeing the greatest impact are not treating AI as a standalone technology initiative. They are redesigning how leadership teams operate, how decisions are made, and how people are empowered to adopt AI responsibly. This balance of technology, talent and governance will be critical as businesses look to scale AI with trust and measurable value.”
New challenges demand different kinds of leadership
Some 86% of respondents say all functional leaders must become technology experts in their domain, a signal that AI accountability is expanding beyond specialised roles. Among organisations with a Chief AI Officer, every surveyed CEO expects the influence of the role to increase by 2030, alongside rising influence across the wider C-suite. Just over half, 54%, say the chief human resources officer will gain influence over the next few years.
Governance becomes more critical as decisions shift to AI
By 2030, surveyed CEOs expect 48% of operational decisions, where consistency and guardrails can be codified, to be made by AI without human intervention, up from 25% today. Some 68% confirm they are decentralising decision-making, distributing accountability as AI plays a larger enterprise-wide role.
The study also highlights an adoption gap. CEOs report that only 25% of the workforce is using AI regularly as part of their job, despite 81% believing their employees have the skills to collaborate with AI. Meanwhile, 85% agree that AI sovereignty is essential to business strategy, underlining the importance of strong controls as AI takes on a larger enterprise-wide role.
People hold the key to AI success
A clear majority, 85%, say AI success depends more on people’s adoption than on technology. Between 2026 and 2028, respondents expect 29% of employees to require reskilling for a different role and 54% to need upskilling to perform their current role more effectively. Around 69% say talent and technology leadership roles are converging, pointing to tighter integration between talent, technology and enterprise strategy.
Globally, organisations that redesigned five core business areas, namely technology, finance, HR, operations and cross functional collaboration, are four times more likely to have delivered on their business objectives.
The IBM CEO study surveyed 2,000 CEOs and equivalent senior leaders across 33 geographies and 21 industries between February and April 2026, conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value in cooperation with Oxford Economics.