A new survey by Gartner reveals a stark disconnect between CEOs’ expectations for AI and their confidence in their executive teams’ readiness to meet those expectations. Of the 456 CEOs and senior executives surveyed globally between June and November 2024, a vast majority believe that AI is ushering in a new business era, but only a minority think their top technology leaders are equipped to lead in this transformation.
Only 44% of CIOs are considered “AI-savvy” by their CEOs, and even fewer C-suite executives, including CISOs and CDOs, received passing grades.
This highlights a growing leadership challenge, as companies increasingly depend on AI not just as a tool but as a transformative operational foundation.
Why It Matters: The gap between AI’s rising importance and the C-suite’s ability to deliver on it could hinder innovation and threaten competitiveness. As AI becomes integral to strategy and execution, upskilling current leaders and workforce members may be essential to long-term survival.
- CEOs Doubt Their Team’s Ability to Deliver: Gartner’s survey found that 77% of CEOs believe AI represents a foundational shift in how businesses and industries will operate. However, this optimism is dampened by skepticism toward their own executive teams’ capacity to lead through such transformation. Many CEOs worry that the C-suite lacks the vision, understanding, and applied skills necessary to fully leverage AI for growth, efficiency, and innovation. The implication is that without immediate investment in leadership education and AI competency, even the most visionary strategies may falter in execution.
- CIOs, CISOs, and CDOs Scored Low on AI Savviness: Despite occupying roles at the intersection of technology and strategy, only 44% of CIOs were considered “AI-savvy” by their CEOs. Confidence in CISOs and CDOs was even lower, pointing to a widespread shortfall in AI literacy even among digital-focused executives. This lack of trust highlights not only an individual skills gap but also a structural issue: organizations may be misaligned in how they recruit, evaluate, and empower leaders responsible for digital transformation and AI integration.
- This Is Not a New Concern: The concerns expressed in the 2025 survey echo those first identified in Gartner’s 2019–2020 CEO survey, where leaders also felt their top executives were underprepared for the digital era. What makes the current moment more urgent is that AI is not viewed as a continuation of digital business, it is seen as a step change. The growing sense of disruption and urgency has transformed what was once a tolerable leadership deficit into a potentially existential risk for companies that fail to adapt.
- Two Core Barriers to AI Deployment: CEOs cited two dominant challenges holding back AI implementation: the inability to find and retain sufficient AI-skilled talent, and the lack of clear frameworks for evaluating AI’s business value. Without measurable outcomes and a compelling ROI narrative, many organizations struggle to scale beyond pilots and proofs-of-concept. Moreover, this uncertainty makes it difficult to prioritize AI investments within broader business strategies, further limiting long-term returns.
- Upskilling the Workforce and the C-Suite: According to Gartner analysts, the focus of many organizations is shifting from simply hiring external AI talent to upskilling existing leaders and employees. CEOs are beginning to recognize that sustainable, enterprise-wide AI adoption requires a shared understanding of AI tools, processes, risks, and benefits. Building AI savviness within the current executive team is seen as key to enabling cultural transformation, aligning strategic goals with technological capabilities, and ensuring the business model can evolve in step with the AI revolution.
