CDO的消亡：The extinction of CDO

Why the role that drove change Once essential, the role of chief digital officer (CDO)has run its course. As digital embeds itself intobusiness as usual and AI reshapes the next frontier,the chief AI officer (CAIO) has emerged — driven by AUTHORS Philipp MudersbachVolker Pfirsching WHEN THE CATALYST THE RISE & FALL Over the past decade, the CDO emerged as asymbol of transformation. Tasked with drivinginnovation, enabling digital capabilities, andchallenging legacy thinking, the CDO was seen as The CDO was never meant to be permanent The rise of the CDO was a milestone in corporatedigitalization — but it was never the finaldestination. CDOs were introduced to closea strategic gap: digital transformation wasdeemed essential, but it lacked clear ownership,budget, and/or execution capacity withintraditional business lines. CDOs were tasked with But the context has changed. Digital is no longeran exception; it is the norm. Technology, data,and agility are now embedded across functions.And just as digital spreads, the CDO’s authority This Viewpoint examines why the CDO role hasreached a structural dead end and looks at what Figure 1. The shifting center of digital responsibility In many ways, the CDO role achieved what it setout to do: it activated digital transformation andhelped embed its logic into the enterprise. Itsgradual phaseout is not a sign of failure. The logic Why the CDO model failed to scale The CDO role’s transitional nature also limited itsability to scale successfully. In many cases, CDOswere given broad ambitions without structural 1.Vague mandates, weak positioning.ManyCDOs were established outside core business Digital is everywhere, so it no longer needs a gatekeeper Digital has evolved from a niche function intoa core competency of every business unit (BU).Marketing, supply chain, HR, and finance alloperate with digital tools, data-driven workflows, 2.Conflicting roles.The CDO frequentlyoperated in contested space: between CIO, 3.No measurable impact.Few organizationsdefined tangible KPIs for CDO success. In this dynamic, central digital units tend tolose their operational relevance. Worse, theybecome bottlenecks: perceived as slow, overlyconceptual, or disconnected from day-to-daybusiness realities. As a result, they are bypassed 4.The wrong altitude.CDOs often operatedat a strategic or conceptual level, whileexecutional levers remained in the business. These limitations had career consequences. Inmany organizations, the position remained adigital outpost that was high in ambition, lowinintegration. As a result, few CDOs successfullytransitioned into broader executive roles. Internalprogression was rare, and unlike CIOs or CTOs, At the same time, other executive roles -CMOs deploy AI-powered personalizationanddata-driven campaign orchestration. CIOs and CTOs govern cloud infrastructure, Line-of-business owners lead agile product Against this backdrop, a CDO can appear to bea role without executional leverage, reduced to The parallels are striking: How leading firms retired the CDO -Like the CDO,the CAIO is a catalystandcapacity-builder. -Walmart (2021).As early as 2021,Walmart began dismantling itsstandalone digital leadership bymerging its e-commerce division -Like the CDO,the CAIO is expectedto drive changeacross functions. -Like the CDO,the CAIO is likely atransitional role— born of disruption, There are also key differences: -The CAIO enters with stronger alignment tovalue creation, deeper technical grounding, -UBS (2023).Following its acquisitionof Credit Suisse, UBS consolidatedits digital leadership by merging the -The organizational context for AI today is moremature, more data-driven, and more product- Unlike earlier waves of digital transformation(which were often technology-enabled butprocess-bound), AI systems can operateautonomously, adapt continuously, and scale withminimal marginal cost. This makes their potential -Boeing (2024).In 2024, Boeingappointed a new chief information anddigital officer, combining IT, analytics, However, urgency alone is not enough. The CAIOis neither a guaranteed success nor a ready-made blueprint. Without structural clarity andenterprise integration, the CAIO risks becoming WHAT COMES NE X T How the CAIO reshapes digital leadership With AI reshaping business models, decisionprocesses, and customer interactions,organizations face the need to redefineleadership once more. The emergence of To avoid this, AI leadership must be positioneddeliberately at the intersection of business,technology, and data execution — typically BE YOND THE CDO The end of the CDO is not the end of digitalleadership. Quite the opposite: it is a callto reimagine how organizations structureaccountability, capability, and strategic foresight Many organizations fall into a familiar trap:treating AI as a natural extension of the digitalagenda and assigning it to CDO teams bydefault. This is a mistake. AI demands more than Retire the