Organizations may be searching for ways to redefine how their HR departments operate, but this does not mean that CHRO leadership is declining in relevance. Instead, new reports suggest that CEOs expect CHRO roles to become increasingly influential in the coming years, leading business operations in their own way. In an era where AI is redefining leadership roles, there has been some debate over workforce management and how different roles will need to evolve to meet businesses undergoing such fast-paced change.
Now more than ever, the strategic intervention of Chief Human Resource Officers is essential to determine how businesses balance their investments in technology and human skills, reshaping the C-suite AI strategy and other critical areas of daily operations.
As C-suite leaders continue to redesign their organizations around AI, the relevance of CHROs in leadership positions remains unshaken. (Image: Freepik)
CEOs Predict a More Central Role for CHROs in the Coming Years
There are many ways that C-suite roles are evolving in 2026, starting from the rise of fractional leadership to executives broaching the subject of AI-based decision-making in leadership. The growing emphasis on artificial intelligence can be credited for a majority of the disruption being caused in the realm of employment today, enough so that organizations are now developing new roles to oversee AI-centric investments and operations.
A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value found that 76% of surveyed organizations now have a Chief AI Officer, which is a much higher figure than the 26% who said the same in 2025. This addition to the C-suite deck isn’t pushing other roles out just yet in the way it has with other segments of the workforce.
The report also found that 59% of surveyed CEOs believe that CHRO influence will increase over the next few years. While they did not highlight just how they estimate CHRO leadership will influence the ongoings of business operations, their plans surrounding AI technology suggest that a considerable amount of people management will be essential in the future.
Strategic HR Leadership Could Be the Missing Piece to Workplace AI Adoption
About 79% of C-suite executives recounting their AI strategy indicate that they are set to decentralize decision-making and distribute accountability with the rise of AI. This is not possible if confidence remains low in those in charge or those who are set to play a supervisory role with AI. The IBM survey also found that while 86% of CEOs believe that their workers have the skills to collaborate with AI, only 25% of their workforce is regularly using the technology. This gap isn’t ideal, but its persistence suggests that somewhere down the chain of operations, change is necessary to better coordinate this adoption.
Not only is the CHRO’s influence critical to bridging this gap in adoption, but it is also key to determining how skills are developed to support the organization’s goals. To that end, CEOs expect 29% of employees to require reskilling for a different role and 53% to need upskilling to perform their current roles better, all of it between 2026 and 2028. These changes cannot be driven without CHROs overseeing their progression.
The report from IBM also showed that surveyed organizations that made dedicated changes to five core areas of operation (technology, finance, HR, operations, and cross-functional collaboration) were four times more likely to have delivered on their business objectives. With collaboration and clear attention to each area, progress might be uneven.
Collaboration Remains Key to Thriving in the Era of AI
As organizations continue to drive change and seek to establish themselves in an era defined by AI-powered work, it is evident that this transformation will not be without its challenges. While businesses continue to build themselves around AI capabilities, it is important to keep sight of their origins, their customer base, and the workers who will help build and lead this transformation.
Whether at the C-suite level or down the hierarchy towards the workers who operate at the grassroots level, organizational strategy must account for how the manpower to drive these changes will be organized and developed for united success.
Do you agree with the surveyed CEOs’ assessment of the CHRO leadership role in the future of business operations? Share your thoughts in the comments with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.
