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Few chief AI officers at Singapore listcos despite growing AI push: survey. Local companies are largely embedding oversight of the tech into existing leadership portfolios Meera pathmanathan. Published Wed, May 20, 2026 · 07:00 AM * About 44% of Asia-Pacific leaders say AI is one of the most significant issues their organisations expect to face in 2026, says Heidrick & Struggles. PHOTO: BT FILE [SINGAPORE] About 76 per cent of firms globally have a dedicated chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) but adoption in Singapore-listed companies remains limited. These were the findings from a recent survey of 2,000 CEOs by IBM's Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with Oxford Economics. Although the report did not give examples, global companies such as London-based bank HSBC, technology firm Meta Platforms and brewer Heineken have appointed chief AI officers. In Singapore, such roles are still the exception rather than the norm. "Dedicated CAIO roles at C-level within Singapore-listed companies remain rare," said John Young, a partner at the Singapore office of leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles. He is a member of its global technology and services practice. Young noted that many companies remain cautious about creating standalone AI leadership positions despite Singapore having built strong national momentum around AI leadership. This is seen with the appointment of Dr He Ruimin as Singapore's CAIO, who oversees national efforts to develop and implement Singapore's AI strategy, as well as the formation of a National AI Council, chaired by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. DECODING ASIA Navigate Asia in a new global order. "From conversations we're having in the field, many organisations are cautious about ring-fencing AI under a single executive," he said. This comes even as executives recognise the growing strategic importance of AI. Heidrick & Struggles' 2026 CEO and Board Confidence Monitor found that 44 per cent of Asia-Pacific leaders identified AI as one of the most significant issues their organisations expect to face in 2026, while about half said they were confident in their ability to manage it. Although CAIO roles among Singapore-listed companies are few and far between, the accelerating pace of AI capabilities is prompting companies to rethink how leadership teams are structured and how responsibilities are distributed across the C-suite. "The CEOs delivering real results from AI transformation aren't just deploying AI faster, they're redesigning their organisations to bring together the best people with the best technology," said Mohamad Ali, senior vice-president at IBM Consulting. According to the IBM report, all CEOs from the organisations with a CAIO expect the role's influence to increase by 2030. In Singapore, AI-led tech services company NCS Group recently appointed Edward Chen as its first chief AI officer. Chen said that the role was created to drive the company's AI strategy with greater focus and coordination. "The chief AI officer role was created to accelerate how NCS develops and brings AI platforms and products to market, while scaling AI adoption and transformation across our clients and operations," he explained. Chen added that the appointment helps align AI initiatives across the organisation around a common strategy, operating model and platform. While NCS continues to have strong AI talent embedded across its industry groups and delivery teams, he said that the operating model allows the company to deliver AI solutions that are "higher quality, faster to deploy, more cost-effective, and built with security and governance from the ground up". Still, many companies in Singapore are choosing to embed AI responsibilities within existing executive portfolios rather than establish dedicated AI leadership roles. Ivan Ng, governing council member and tech and digital committee co-chair at the Singapore Institute of Directors, said that this is because successful AI adoption depends on "broader integration across data, platforms, operations and governance". Heidrick & Struggles' Young noted: "In many cases, companies may find it more practical to expand the remit of existing CIOs, CTOs, digital or innovation leaders, as these executives already oversee the underlying technology infrastructure, governance, transformation programmes and implementation teams required to deploy AI effectively." He pointed to a recent search by a bank here for a chief innovation officer, where AI accounted for roughly a quarter of the role's remit rather than serving as its sole focus. "The bank recognised that AI was just one of several areas requiring innovation, alongside blockchain, cybersecurity, infrastructure and fintech," he said. Young added that companies increasingly view AI as an enterprise-wide capability rather than a standalone business function. "The reality is that AI cuts across every part of the business," he pointed out, noting that "many organisations will view AI readiness as a CEO and board-level priority, with accountability distributed across the leadership team rather than concentrated in a single role". Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services

Kinetic IT recruits Kishore Jayaram as chief transformation officer. 20 April 2026 Consultancy.com.au Technology consultancy Kinetic IT has appointed Kishore Jayaram as its chief transformation officer. Based out of Melbourne, Kishore Jayaram joins Kinetic IT in the newly-created role after spending the past two years at NCS, before which he held senior positions at Thoughtworks, Accenture, and Cisco after starting out at McKinsey & Company. In making the switch, Jayaram follows closely on the heels of Dean Langenbach, who last month took over as Kinetic IT's new CEO after serving as NRI chief, with the Perth-based consultancy now squarely focused on its next phase of growth. "Kishore joins Kinetic IT at a pivotal time as we invest in new capabilities, services, and growth initiatives that will shape our future direction," Langenbach stated. "His experience in enterprise transformation and strategic execution will help us to capture emerging opportunities and support the evolving digital needs of government and critical services across Australia." Prior to his strategy & growth lead stint at NCS, Jayaram spent roughly three-and-half-years apiece in various senior sales and development roles at Thoughtworks and Accenture, before which he worked at Cisco for almost a decade, latterly leading its go-to-market CX solutions strategy for the Asia Pacific & Japan after earlier starting his career as a research analyst at McKinsey. Jayaram will now be responsible for helping to expand Kinetic's presence by developing new sovereign digital services and modernising its existing ones, including as to AI and other emerging technologies, while also being tasked with strengthening the firm's strategic partnerships and bringing the diversified portfolio to market as it builds on its managed services foundations. "Few organisations reach a moment where they can fundamentally reshape their trajectory, and Kinetic IT is at one such moment," Jayaram said. "Backed by strong leadership, deep industry trust, and a clear mandate for growth, the focus is now on building on that strength by scaling new AI-enabled solutions in ways that truly differentiate us, and I'm energised by what we can unlock." Co-founded in Perth by Terry and Phillip North alongside David McCleery now three decades ago, with Langenbach taking over from another brother Michael in March after ten years of impressive growth, Kinetic IT today has a nationwide headcount upwards of 1,500 technicians and advisors across six offices, and has consistently featured on Deloitte's 'best managed companies' list.

SINGAPORE, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Technology services firm NCS today announced that it is expanding its Asia Pacific footprint through a joint venture with Globe Telecom in the Philippines.