With major accountability for constructing their group’s AI technique, 75% of chief knowledge & analytics officers (CDAOs) might lose their C-suite place by 2027 in the event that they don’t reveal their worth, in line with Gartner.
This makes 2025 a essential yr for CDAOs to show their important function and reveal they’ll efficiently implement AI inside their group, mentioned Sarah James, senior director analyst at Gartner, through the agency’s Knowledge and Analytics Summit final week in London.
“CDAOs’ publicity throughout the group, mixed with their AI-ready knowledge experience, positions them uniquely to guide, information, and problem their respective organizations to efficiently ship worth from AI. That is making the CDAO’s function pivotal to AI success,’’ James mentioned.
5 key findings from Gartner’s CDAO agenda survey
1. The CDAO function is gaining direct entry to CEOs
As their affect grows, extra CDAOs are reporting on to the CEO — a rise to 36% in 2025, up from 21% in 2024. This shift displays the elevated strategic significance of information and AI management.
2. Organizations are reevaluating AI management buildings
Whereas the CDAO function stays safe, Gartner notes that “organizations are exploring totally different buildings for AI management.’’ This means a interval of transition, the place firms are testing how greatest to align AI oversight with enterprise technique.
3. The function of the CDAO is evolving
Gartner identifies three varieties of future CDAO roles:
- An knowledgeable D&A pacesetter who focuses on enterprise knowledge governance and reviews to IT.
- A connector CDAO integrates D&A software program into services for CXOs and drives the group’s AI agenda ahead.
- A pioneer CDAx encompasses the obligations of the chief knowledge officer (CDO), CDAO, and chief knowledge and AI officer (CDAIO).
4. D&A management will proceed to diverge
“D&A management will proceed to diverge within the close to future, and current and aspiring CDAOs ought to develop their expertise and experience that align with their chosen path. This may assist them to boost their function and place in AI management,” James mentioned.
5. 2025 is the yr for CDAOs to show their worth
Gartner advises CDAOs to make the case for the place and the place to not deploy AI and digital applied sciences to present their organizations a aggressive benefit.
Extra particulars concerning the survey
The Gartner CDAO Agenda Survey for 2025 was carried out from September by November 2024 amongst 504 world knowledge and analytics government leaders.