The 10 most in-demand leadership roles are based on 400+ executive interviews and a 300% increase in AI hiring across company formation, deployment, and platform execution.

Leadership structures are evolving rapidly as companies move deeper into the large-scale deployment of AI systems. Christian & Timbers’ 2025 Executive Outlook identifies the ten roles most critical to driving performance in this new environment, shaped by advances in large language models, agentic frameworks, and enterprise-grade infrastructure.

“We’ve spoken with over 200 founders, CEOs, CPOs, Chief Scientists, and Investors from AI-native or foundation model-first companies, as well as more than 200 CEOs and CHROs from public companies across various sectors,” said Jeff Christian, CEO of Christian & Timbers. “The biggest demand is for Chief Scientists who top-tier investors are directly funding to start new companies.”

This shift is visible in the market. Ilya Sutskever, former Chief Scientist at OpenAI, is launching Safe Superintelligence with backing from Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman. The company reportedly raised $100 million in seed capital, with firms competing for access. These moves mirror Christian & Timbers’ data: a 300% rise in AI executive demand across founding, scaling, and platform roles.

“Enterprise value creation increasingly depends on leadership that can operationalize AI across core systems,” said JC Christian, President at Christian & Timbers. “The market favors profiles with both architectural fluency and the pragmatic execution ability to embed AI into workflows that compress decision cycles and expand margins at scale.”

Executive Roles Defining 2025:

1. Chief AI Scientist – From Lab to Capital Formation
   
   Scientific leaders with deep research backgrounds are moving into founder roles. They design infrastructure, attract capital, and lead advanced technical teams, shaping new AI ventures.
2. VP of AI Transformation / VP & SVP of AI – Operational Integration and Platform Leadership
   
   Oversees enterprise-wide AI rollout, aligning foundation models with business objectives. Often reports to the CEO or CTO and ensures cross-functional execution.
3. Chief Revenue Officer – Enterprise AI Monetization
   
   Leads pricing strategy, commercial execution, and sales for AI-driven products in enterprise markets.
4. Board Director – AI-Governed Operating Models
   
   Boards now oversee AI strategy, compliance, and risk. Only 29% include members with advanced digital or technical backgrounds (NACD).
5. Go-to-Market Leader – Enterprise Distribution for Intelligent Systems
   
   Designs agile GTM systems for AI-native tools, using real-time feedback and fast iteration cycles.
6. Managing Partner – AI Deployment Capital
   
   Leads funds focused on model optimization and infrastructure. AI-focused VC and PE raised over $68 billion in 2024 (PitchBook).
7. CEO / AI CEO – Post-Founding Execution
   
   Drives operational buildout, team scale-up, and platform development in AI-first companies.
8. Chief AI Officer / VP of AI / Chief AI and Data Officer (CAIDO) – Domain-Specific Deployment
   
   Directs enterprise AI and data strategy. Oversees model training, infrastructure, and governance across sectors. Over 40% of advanced AI companies place this role under the CEO (McKinsey).
9. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) – Applied Model Protection
   
   Secures model design and deployment. Focuses on threats like adversarial interference and synthetic misuse.
10. Chief Product Officer – LLM-Based Platform Ownership
    
    Integrates models into product roadmaps. Ensures alignment between user feedback, system evolution, and technical delivery.

The hiring wave spans startups and incumbents. Microsoft appointed Mustafa Suleyman as CEO of Microsoft AI and Pamela Maynard as Chief AI Transformation Officer. Meta brought in Alexandr Wang to lead its Superintelligence unit post-acquisition of Scale AI.

These roles reflect a shift toward leaders with both research fluency and execution depth. Christian and Timbers identify three primary drivers of AI leadership demand:

• Founders launching AI-native companies
• Builders scaling technical teams
• Executives deploying AI across the enterprise

Outside tech, the most active sectors now include healthcare, financial services, energy, and manufacturing, where leadership teams are prioritizing long-term AI integration.

About Christian & Timbers

Christian & Timbers is a global top executive search firm specializing in leadership across advanced technology sectors. For over four decades, the firm has advised founders, boards, and investors on building enduring leadership structures, completing more than 1,000 CEO searches.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250709711419/en/

“We’ve spoken with over 200 founders, CEOs, CPOs, Chief Scientists, and Investors from AI-native or foundation model-first companies, as well as more than 200 CEOs and CHROs from public companies across various sectors”