Chief AI Officers Arrive in C-Suites
CFO Dive, Friday, October 2nd, 2026
Crist Kolder finds 10.7% of large U.S. companies now have a chief AI officer, led by healthcare and financial services.
A Crist Kolder Associates analysis of 665 Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies found 71, or 10.7%, now have a chief AI officer or equivalent, at firms including Boeing, Eli Lilly and McDonald's.
Healthcare has the highest concentration at 18.5%, followed by financial services at 15.3% and technology at 12.6%, and the firm projects that nearly 20% of companies will have such a role by 2027.
Co-managing partner Josh Crist says the role oversees AI implementation across the business and provides internal checks and balances, which become more important as agentic AI spreads.