AI Readiness: The Four Steps CEOs Need to Take to Build AI-Powered Organizations
In an era where artificial intelligence is redefining the foundations of business and society, leadership itself must transform. We stand at the precipice of the most significant technological revolution in modern history—one that will separate organizations that thrive from those that survive. The stakes are clear: our research found that 54% of leaders rate technological change […]

Tristan Jervis is a Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates. This post is based on his Russell Reynolds memorandum.
In an era where artificial intelligence is redefining the foundations of business and society, leadership itself must transform. We stand at the precipice of the most significant technological revolution in modern history—one that will separate organizations that thrive from those that survive.
The stakes are clear: our research found that 54% of leaders rate technological change as a top five threat to organizational health in the next 12-18 months. Senior executives recognize the urgency and necessity of AI transformation. But, only 45% feel confident in their organization’s ability to effectively transform.
The fundamental misconception many leaders harbor is that AI transformation is only a technological challenge. It’s not. At its core, it’s a leadership challenge—one that demands new capabilities, mindsets, and approaches. This is not about incremental change. This is about fundamental transformation.
We know that committing and implementing large-scale transformation isn’t easy—it’s a huge undertaking. We share the four actions CEOs need to address to supercharge AI transformation at their organization, including ensuring you have the right leaders today, as well as in the wings, who are able to shift their ways of working and adopt AI at scale.