• Boards are reassessing the leadership capabilities required to move artificial intelligence (AI) into core operations.
• Leadership alignment, governance, and organisational culture are increasingly determining whether AI initiatives translate into measurable business value.
• Leaders must be able to integrate AI across different levels of maturity, from individual employee tools to enterprise-wide systems.

The boardroom narrative around artificial intelligence (AI) in South Africa is shifting. AI as a buzzword is losing its shine as companies take a harder look at how the technology is applied across their operations, and what leaders they must appoint to ensure its success. While generative AI has only been in the mainstream for a couple of years, executives have already recognised that the real challenge lies less in the complexity or limitations of the technology itself, and more in leadership and organisational readiness.

According to research conducted by global leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles, more than two-thirds of CEO and board-level respondents globally say their boards are spending enough time on AI. However, boards and executives need to be more prepared. As many as 38% of AI and data officers felt that their boards did not have the knowledge to respond effectively to presentations on AI and machine learning.

That gap in understanding is beginning to influence how organisations think about leadership appointments. As AI capabilities expand and companies seek to embed the technology into core operations, boards are reassessing the criteria used for senior appointments, placing greater emphasis on digital, technological, and AI fluency.

While directors and executives do not need to be technical specialists, they must have a strong enough grasp of the technology to judge where AI can genuinely create value, where it should not be applied, what risks or complications it may introduce, how employees will adopt and use it in practice, and how its integration may ultimately reshape the organisation’s culture.

Recognising that leadership capability often determines how effectively organisations navigate major structural change, boards are increasingly seeking external support to strengthen executive succession and board composition as AI becomes embedded across operations and organisations undertake enterprise-level cultural transformation. Firms such as Heidrick & Struggles are often engaged to support these processes, particularly when organisations are undergoing complex technology transitions.

In practice, this includes assessing whether existing executives and directors have the capability to oversee technology-driven change, advising on C-suite succession, and conducting executive searches where organisations need leaders with experience in digital and AI-enabled environments. Advisors may also work with boards on leadership transitions, board effectiveness, and leadership development, while helping senior teams align decision-making structures and governance frameworks.

AI is unfolding differently across organisations

Yet even with stronger leadership oversight and governance structures in place, organisations are adopting AI at different speeds and levels of sophistication. These differences are largely shaped by operational priorities, leadership readiness, and the maturity of a company’s data and technology environments. In practice, companies currently tend to fall into three broad categories:

• Individual employee use of AI tools

Employees use generative AI tools to support everyday tasks such as research, drafting documents, analysing information, and improving personal productivity.

• Integrated internal AI systems

AI capabilities are embedded within internal systems, linking applications, data platforms, and workflows to improve operational efficiency and decision-making across the organisation.

• Customer-facing AI deployment

AI is used to enhance the customer experience through automated service channels, personalised engagement, and faster response times across digital platforms.

These differences are changing how organisations structure leadership responsibility. Some companies are creating dedicated roles such as chief AI officer or head of AI to centralise strategy and coordinate implementation across the business. In other organisations, chief transformation officers are being elevated within executive teams to oversee AI alongside broader transformation mandates, while responsibility in many cases continues to sit with chief information officers, chief technology officers, and chief data officers. This ensures that integration remains tied to broader operational and strategic priorities.

Organisations must also build consensus across leadership teams and ensure employees understand how AI will be used in their daily work. When leadership shares a clear view of AI’s role in advancing strategy, they can guide adoption, reinforce usage over time, and move systems beyond isolated experimentation into everyday operations.

This transition requires organisational culture to evolve alongside the technology. Leaders must be able to clearly articulate how AI supports strategy, establish shared expectations across the organisation, and reinforce adoption through everyday management and decision-making. In many cases, boards turn to leadership advisory firms such as Heidrick & Struggles for support as they work through these structural and leadership changes.

When culture, leadership, and strategy pull in the same direction, organisations are far better positioned to embed AI across their operations and turn its potential into measurable value. Technology may enable transformation, but leadership capability ultimately determines whether that transformation delivers results.

About Heidrick & Struggles

Heidrick & Struggles is the world’s foremost advisor on executive leadership, driving superior client performance through premier human capital leadership advisory services. For more than 70 years, we’ve delivered value for our clients by leveraging unrivalled expertise to help organisations discover and enable outstanding leaders and teams. Learn more at www.heidrick.com.