A chief AI officer is no longer enough - why your business needs a 'magician' too

As 60% of companies appoint Chief AI Officers (CAIOs), insurance specialist Howden is pioneering a different approach: a 'Director of AI Productivity.' This senior role, reporting to Group Chief Data Officer Barry Panayi, sits directly between the data organization and the IT department. Its primary function is to act as a 'collaborative interface,' ensuring that purchased AI tools (like Microsoft Copilot) are properly integrated by IT while custom models built by data teams (using APIs like ChatGPT) are effectively leveraged across business units.

Panayi describes the challenge as a 'build versus buy decision, with a sliver in the middle.' The Director of AI Productivity owns that critical 'sliver,' where off-the-shelf tools meet custom code. This specialist ensures adoption, arguing that personal AI use 'to book holidays' differs significantly from driving workplace productivity. The role addresses confusion over the remits of tech and data teams, a common bottleneck that slows scaling. While Thomson Reuters' COTO Kirsty Roth suggests AI should be 'considered by all staff,' Howden's model provides the dedicated, senior authority needed to manage demand and bridge organizational silos for faster, more responsible AI implementation.