The CAIO role is indeed filled with many layers and responsibilities, according to Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at compensation and leadership advisory firm Pearl Meyer. Responsibilities include aligning AI implementation and use with the organization’s overall strategy, leading the development of AI policy and deployment across the organization, and helping to ensure adherence to AI-related regulatory compliance. Given that, it may not be surprising that Pearl Meyer’s March 2024 Quick Poll: AI’s Impact on Organizational Structure and Investments found 9% of the 142 survey respondents already have a designated AI leader.
In a competitive labor market, it is critical to obtain reliable and current market data when putting together a compensation and total rewards package for any leadership position—and that is most definitely the case for a CAIO, said Toman.
“Companies can look at pay for similar roles like top cybersecurity positions and consider adding a premium or differential,” Toman said.
Toman also noted Pearl Meyer’s Cyber Security, AI, and Data Science Salary Survey found that 53.7% of surveyed organizations do not pay AI positions differently than cybersecurity positions; but among those that do pay differently, 92.3% pay a premium for AI roles compared to cybersecurity.