Temporary Titles, Lasting Impact: The Case for Interim CDAIOs

In 2008, artificial intelligence (AI) was a distant dream. The iPhone was only one year old, Facebook was just starting to pull ahead from MySpace, and laptops, for the first time ever, began to outsell desktop computers. When Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and ushered in the financial crisis in 2008, we saw the rise of the Chief Data Officer (CDO). From there, a new era of technical leadership began to grow, where data became an asset, a risk, something to be mastered and managed.  

Our world looks a lot different in 2025. AI is built into our iPhones - now iPhone 16s. AI is inside our search engines, working in our delivery food apps, navigating us in Google Maps, assessing our bodies and habits when we wear Oura Rings. This new world of ours, therefore, demands a different type of leader: someone who can bridge together data strategy, analytics, and AI. A leader who can combine governance and innovation and keep pace with the constant changes. Someone who can employ data in innovative ways, and balance the risk profile with new priorities, with a deep understanding of the businesses they help to run. The Chief Data and AI Officer role (CDAIO) does just this. 

CDAIOs inhabit a unique part of today’s businesses: not only are they responsible for knowing the technology, they are also required to navigate the challenging global regulatory landscape. Commanding premium salaries, CDAIOs brandish the valuable technical know-how to make decisions. Randy Bean, an expert Data and AI leadership, who advises Fortune 1000 organizations, says CDAIOs are integral to the success of today’s businesses. 

“As AI becomes more deeply embedded across products, operations and customer experiences, data and AI leadership will become a boardroom imperative,” explained Randy. 

But with the hiring of the highly necessary CDAIOs comes an uncomfortable truth: by the time a firm hires a CDAIO, the landscape may have shifted there are new technologies, new priorities, new risks. The role has very high turnover; their average tenure, Randy explains, is around two to three years, as they attempt to keep pace with AI and data transformation’s accelerations. 

Just as the CDAIO role is born from a unique need in the market, the talent is best procured in its own way. Because of the evolving industry, high cost of talent, and shifting business needs, the CDAIO role is most effective as an interim leadership position. An interim strategy enables organizations to bring in the CDAIO’s tailored expertise at critical inflection points: whether it’s retooling data practices, employing generative AI, or mitigating crises. 

Here at Odgers, we see that solutions from 2008 won’t solve your problems from 2025. Our access to qualified interim AI & data leaders, including former CDAIOs and certified CDAIOs, allows your teams to plug in expertise exactly when it's needed on transformation, alignment, frameworks without long-term budget strain.