South African CEOs are restructuring their C-suite for an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven enterprise, as AI moves from isolated technology projects into the heart of business operations.
This is according to findings from the South African edition of the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) 2026 CEO study.
The research shows that organisations are increasingly redesigning executive teams around AI, as they seek greater efficiency, agility and competitive advantage.
The study surveyed more than 2 000 CEOs across 33 countries and 21 industries, including SA.
According to the research, in light of AI deployments, local CEOs are reshaping leadership structures, decision-making processes and workforce strategies.
The study found 67% of surveyed South African CEOs have already appointed a chief AI officer, signalling that AI leadership is becoming a permanent fixture in the executive suite.
Meanwhile, 83% of local CEOs say they are actively embedding AI across multiple workflows to improve business effectiveness.
Ria Pinto, GM of IBM South Africa, says AI is fundamentally changing how organisations are structured and led.
"AI is no longer a future ambition sitting in innovation labs or isolated pilot projects. It is becoming the operating model of modern business.”
She notes that South African companies are increasingly recognising that AI accountability cannot rest solely within IT departments.
"The organisations seeing the strongest results are not necessarily those experimenting with the most AI tools, but those redesigning workflows, governance structures and operating models to integrate AI into how work actually gets done."
Breaking down leadership silos
Further findings from the study reveal that traditional executive silos are beginning to disappear as AI influences every business function, from finance and operations, to human resources, customer experience, compliance and cyber security.
The report found that 73% of South African CEOs believe all functional leaders must become technology experts within their own domains, reflecting the growing importance of technology fluency across the executive team.
Rather than relying solely on chief information officers and technology departments, businesses are increasingly adopting integrated leadership models where responsibility for AI is shared across the organisation.
This trend aligns with broader global developments as enterprises seek to operationalise AI at scale while maintaining governance, trust and compliance.
Speed is competitive advantage
The study also highlights a growing shift towards faster decision-making as businesses adapt to the pace of an AI-driven economy.
Globally, 79% of CEOs say they are decentralising strategic decision-making to accelerate execution, while 77% are empowering teams to make quicker decisions as AI assumes a greater operational role.
In SA, 80% of surveyed CEOs say they are comfortable making major strategic decisions based on AI-generated insights.
This reflects growing confidence in AI's ability to provide executives with real-time intelligence, deeper operational visibility and faster analysis, notes the study.
"AI is increasingly augmenting executive decision-making by providing leaders with the information they need to respond faster to changing business conditions," Pinto points out.
"AI does not replace human judgement. It enhances it by enabling organisations to make better-informed decisions at greater speed and scale."
She adds that success in the AI era depends on creating environments in which human expertise and machine intelligence work together.
Workforce adoption gap remains
Despite strong executive confidence in AI, the study reveals a significant gap between leadership ambitions and employee adoption of AI.
“While 87% of South African CEOs believe their employees possess the skills required to collaborate effectively with AI, only 18% of the workforce currently uses AI regularly in their jobs. This is below the global average of 25%.”
The findings suggest workforce readiness may become one of the biggest obstacles to successful AI transformation.
Importantly, 87% of South African CEOs acknowledge that AI success depends more on people adopting the technology than on the technology itself, states the report.
“Organisations are facing growing pressure to invest in skills development and reskilling programmes. Between 2026 and 2028, CEOs expect that 27% of employees will require retraining for entirely different roles, while 56% will need new skills to perform their existing jobs effectively.”
The study concludes that the next phase of AI transformation will be defined not by ambition, but by execution.
“For South African CEOs, the challenge is no longer whether to embrace AI. Instead, the focus has shifted to rewiring leadership structures, empowering faster decision-making and equipping employees with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-first enterprise.”
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