CEOs lead transformation as technology chiefs assume greater accountability
New research from international law firm Addleshaw Goddard reveals a shift in the role of technology leaders, with 78% of senior leaders saying technology transformation has made the technology chief a strategic peer of the CEO. However, that growing strategic role is accompanied by greater accountability when transformation falls short.
More than half (54%) of senior leaders surveyed say the CEO plays the dominant role in ensuring transformation succeeds. Yet when an initiative fails to deliver its intended value, 63% say the technology chief takes responsibility, compared with 36% who say the CEO does.
The divide is also reflected in leaders’ views of ultimate accountability: 31% of technology leaders believe the CEO is responsible for whether a major technology transformation succeeds or fails, compared with just 12% of CEOs themselves.
The findings form part of a new Addleshaw Goddard report, Successful Tech Transformation in the Age of AI, which explores what businesses want from technology transformation, the value they are achieving and where leaders can focus to turn investment into lasting business change.
Based on a survey of 200 CEOs, technology leaders and legal leaders across six countries and 18 sectors, the research finds significant ambition for technology transformation and evidence that investment is already delivering tangible benefits.
Technology transformation is delivering value
Almost three-quarters (73%) of senior leaders report improved employee productivity and efficiency as a result of technology transformation, while 67% report measurable operational value and 58% measurable commercial growth.
More than half (52%) put fundamentally reinventing how their organisation creates and delivers value as a top three objective for technology transformation, while 47% want technology to create new sources of growth.
The research highlights the opportunity for businesses to translate these gains into deeper organisational change. 35% say technology transformation is changing how their organisation creates value, while 40% are prepared to make significant structural changes to take advantage of emerging technologies, something that is particularly relevant as businesses look to deploy AI.
