Chief AI Officer Role Grows Fast in Middle East, IBM Study Shows 67% of Companies Have One

On 15 June 2026, IBM released a study that revealed a striking shift in the region’s corporate landscape: 67 % of Middle Eastern organisations now appoint a Chief AI Officer (CAIO). The finding signals that artificial intelligence is moving beyond pilot projects into a central pillar of enterprise strategy.

The research surveyed CEOs and senior executives across the Gulf, Levant, North Africa and the broader Middle East. It shows that the CAIO is no longer a niche or experimental appointment but a core component of the C‑suite, tasked with steering AI strategy, governance, investment and value creation. “AI leadership is becoming an increasingly important part of the C‑suite,” said Lula Mohanty, Managing Partner for Middle East and Africa at IBM Consulting. “Roles such as the Chief AI Officer help organisations establish clear accountability for AI strategy, governance, value creation and responsible adoption.”

Every CEO who works alongside a CAIO expects the role’s influence to grow by 2030. This outlook is reinforced by the fact that nine in ten CEOs in the region are embedding AI across multiple workflows to boost efficiency, productivity and decision‑making.

The rise of the CAIO reflects a fundamental change in how technology functions are organised. Historically, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) managed IT strategy within a single domain. AI, however, permeates workforce planning, customer engagement, operations, finance and risk management. Consequently, companies are creating dedicated AI leadership to coordinate implementation across business units.

The trend is especially pronounced in the Gulf, where governments have made AI a strategic priority through national digital transformation and economic diversification agendas. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and the newly launched Humain AI company illustrate the kingdom’s ambition to become a global AI hub.

Organisational agility and workforce readiness are key drivers of this shift. The study finds that 86 % of CEOs believe every functional leader must become a technology expert within their own domain, and 68 % say they are decentralising decision‑making to improve agility. This means CFOs, COOs, CHROs and business‑unit leaders now play a role in determining how AI is deployed, governed and measured.

A major challenge for executives is workforce readiness. The research shows that 85 % of CEOs think AI success depends more on employee adoption than on the technology itself. Between 2026 and 2028, respondents expect 29 % of employees will require reskilling for new roles, while 54 % will need upskilling to perform their current jobs more effectively. Demand is growing for skills in data, automation, governance and cybersecurity, alongside human capabilities such as critical thinking, adaptability and collaboration.

Industry examples underscore the momentum. On 5 May 2026, IBM and Saudi Aramco announced a partnership to accelerate AI and innovation across Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector. Launched at IBM’s THINK 2026 event in Boston, the collaboration aims to advance agentic AI, automation, materials science and hybrid cloud technologies. In the UAE, the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and the Ministry of Education have introduced graduate and undergraduate programmes that feed the region’s AI talent pipeline. The UAE’s National Centre for Artificial Intelligence, part of SDAIA, is also active in developing national AI strategies.

The CAIO’s emergence signals a broader shift in how Middle Eastern organisations are preparing for an AI‑driven future. By formalising AI leadership, companies can balance innovation with governance, compliance and data sovereignty requirements. The role also supports the region’s ambition to diversify economies, create high‑value jobs and strengthen digital infrastructure.

In short, IBM’s research confirms that the Chief AI Officer is becoming a standard executive role across the Middle East. With 67 % of companies already appointing one, CEOs anticipate the CAIO’s influence will grow by 2030 as AI moves from isolated experiments to scalable, enterprise‑wide capabilities. The next few years will see the CAIO’s responsibilities broaden further, as organisations embed AI into core business processes and governments push for responsible, secure and sovereign AI deployment.