Questions about AI, data, technology and leadership — answered with evidence.

Working in AI, I am often asked how I use it at Lucent Search. Following my conversation on The Resilient Recruiter, I explain how technology supports my work, where personal judgement remains essential and why the time saved should benefit clients and candidates.

Can your CIO take responsibility for enterprise AI, or does the organisation need a different leadership model? Assess the CIO’s capability, authority, capacity and the team around them before creating another executive role.

Where AI sits should follow the problem you are trying to solve, not the title you think you need. This decision framework compares CAIO, CDO/CDAO, CIO, CTO and federated models across maturity, decision rights, reporting lines, regulation and board oversight.

AI investment can stall for very different reasons. Before changing the leadership team, establish whether the constraint is business ownership, technology, data, decision-making or executive capability.

A failed CIO, CTO or technology executive search should not simply be restarted. Here is how to identify what went wrong, redefine the role and approach the market differently.

AI and data leaders need more than individual capability to deliver. Authority, sponsorship, resources, governance and organisational design all shape what they can achieve.

You don’t need to match a CIO or CTO candidate’s technical expertise to assess them properly. Focus on their judgement, personal contribution, decisions, influence and evidence of what they have actually delivered.

Should AI sit with a Chief AI Officer, CIO, CTO or CDAO? The answer depends on the outcomes, authority and organisational structure required to turn AI investment into results.

A shortlist alone does not tell you whether the market was properly searched. Here is what boards should expect to see behind it, from market mapping and outreach to candidate response, trade-offs and gaps.