In today’s digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a technological upgrade—it’s a catalyst for reimagining how organizations operate, innovate, and grow. Yet, as enterprises race to modernize and leverage AI to tackle mounting tech debt and unlock new value, a persistent challenge remains: the disconnect between IT and business leaders. This divide, if left unaddressed, can undermine even the most ambitious AI-powered transformation efforts.
Recent research from Publicis Sapient and HFS reveals that while 80% of enterprise leaders believe AI will improve modernization outcomes, only a fraction are successfully scaling AI across their organizations. The gap is not due to a lack of ambition or investment—30% of IT budgets are already dedicated to modernization—but rather to misalignment at the leadership level. Four critical disconnects consistently emerge:
The stakes are high. Enterprises are carrying an estimated $1.5–2 trillion in accumulated tech debt, and incremental fixes are no longer sufficient. AI offers the potential to break free from legacy constraints, but only if organizations can move from siloed, piecemeal efforts to unified, organization-wide transformation. This requires a new model of C-suite collaboration—one that bridges the traditional divide between technology and business.
Every C-suite leader has a unique vantage point—and a critical role to play—in driving AI-powered change. Here’s how alignment can be fostered across key executive roles:
For CEOs, the imperative is to champion a vision where AI is not a distant goal but a present-day driver of competitive advantage. With employees often adopting AI tools faster than leadership, CEOs must lead from the front, fostering a culture of experimentation, learning, and cross-functional collaboration. The CEO’s role is to set a clear North Star, ensuring that AI initiatives are tied to business outcomes and that the organization is prepared to adapt at speed.
CIOs are tasked with more than just technology governance—they must unearth and address the shadow IT and unsanctioned AI usage proliferating across the enterprise. By building robust, secure, and scalable platforms, CIOs can enable safe experimentation while embedding AI into the core of business processes. Their challenge is to move from gatekeeper to enabler, aligning IT priorities with business ambitions and ensuring that modernization efforts are outcome-driven.
Operations leaders often resist AI due to concerns about disruption, yet they stand to gain the most from automation and process optimization. COOs must orchestrate the evolution of workflows, championing AI as a tool for operational agility and efficiency. By partnering closely with IT and business units, COOs can ensure that AI adoption is both practical and sustainable, driving measurable improvements in productivity and customer service.
For CFOs, the shift to AI-powered transformation means rethinking traditional cost models and risk frameworks. As hourly billing and effort-based metrics become obsolete, CFOs must develop new approaches to value measurement—focusing on business outcomes, ROI, and long-term resilience. Their role is to balance innovation with fiscal discipline, ensuring that AI investments are aligned with strategic priorities and deliver tangible returns.
Marketing, data, and digital leaders are at the forefront of leveraging AI for customer experience and growth. Their challenge is to harmonize data across silos, advocate for ethical and responsible AI use, and ensure that AI-driven insights translate into actionable strategies. By fostering collaboration across the C-suite, these leaders can help break down barriers and accelerate enterprise-wide transformation.
To bridge the C-suite divide and drive unified AI-powered transformation, organizations should consider the following strategies:
At Publicis Sapient, we understand that successful AI-powered transformation is as much about people and process as it is about technology. Our SPEED model—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—connects business vision to technical execution, enabling organizations to break down silos and drive sustainable growth. Through our partnerships with leading technology providers and our proven track record across industries, we help clients bridge the C-suite divide, modernize at scale, and realize the full potential of AI.
The future belongs to organizations that can align their leadership, embrace bold change, and harness AI as a force for continuous reinvention. Let’s bridge the divide—together.