AI Leadership & the Chief AI Officer.
The fastest-growing title in the history of the C-suite, and a candidate pool that is small, densely networked and almost entirely passive. Nobody advertises their way to this hire.
From novelty to table stakes in three years.
11% in 2023, about 26% in 2025, roughly 40% projected in 2026.
Roles at the intersection of artificial intelligence and executive leadership command a clear market premium, because the people who can actually do the job are few, well paid, and not looking.
Leadership that owns AI outcomes, not AI slideware.
| Role | Typical first-year compensation | Company stage |
|---|---|---|
| Chief AI Officer, Enterprise | $350,000 to $450,000 base + 25-40% bonus | $1B+ revenue |
| Chief AI Officer, Mid-market | $280,000 to $380,000 base + 15-30% bonus | $100M to $1B |
| Chief AI Officer, Growth stage | $200,000 to $300,000 + equity | Series B-D |
| VP / Head of AI | $300,000 to $400,000 | All stages |
| Head of AI Governance & Risk | $250,000 to $350,000 | Regulated industries |
We run an AI-native practice. We know what good looks like.
We do not learn about AI leadership from a briefing document. Our own desk runs on custom agents across sourcing, market mapping and reporting. When we assess a Chief AI Officer, we can tell the difference between a leader who has deployed AI into a business and one who has presented about it.
Hiring your first AI leader?
Most organizations get this hire wrong once before they get it right. We would rather you skipped that.