CIOREVIEW >> CXO Awards >> Top 10 Chief AI Officers - 2026

CIOReview honors visionary Top 10 Chief AI Officers - 2026 transforming data into strategic assets. These leaders drive innovation, enhance decision-making, and unlock business value through data governance, analytics, and AI—shaping the future of data-driven enterprises across industries..

Top 10 Chief AI Officers - 2026

Top 10 Chief AI Officers - 2026

James Szmak, Chief AI Officer,Elevationary.ai

Drawing on decades of operational leadership— from managing a $185 million P&L at JDRF to directing $40 million IT divisions supporting $9 billion in revenue at Cisco—my focus is strictly on operational excellence, latency and measurable outcomes.

Founder, CEO, and Chief AI Officer

Matt Fok, Founder, CEO, and Chief AI Officer of AI X Network, is redefining how enterprises scale in the age of intelligent ecosystems. With more than 25 years of global technology leadership, Fok has pioneered the concept of ecosystem first AI, transforming fragmented operational functions into a unified learning engine that compounds intelligence across customer acquisition, onboarding, and recruiting.

Managing Director of Technology, Programming.com

Sharanjit Toor is a technology leader with a strong focus on artificial intelligence, digital transformation and business growth. As the managing director of technology at Programming.com, he oversees the company's global technology operations and guides its AI strategy and investment decisions. His role is to ensure technology aligns with broader digital transformation and cloud infrastructure for effective enterprise software delivery.

Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, DigitalNet.ai

Allen Badeau is an AI expert with over two decades of experience in machine learning, science and technology, innovation and transformation expertise. He currently serves as chief artificial intelligence officer at DigitalNet.ai, where he focuses on building cognitive AI systems that go beyond task automation and function as a thinking system. Badeau’s work focuses on advancing how enterprises approach intelligence in an era dominated by automation hype and fragmented deployments.

Chief AI Officer, Leidos

Ron Keesing is a technology and AI executive who most recently served as Chief AI Officer at Leidos, a Fortune 300 defense and technology company, where he led enterprise AI and digital transformation initiatives. A former military officer, he has over two decades of leadership experience spanning defense, cloud modernization and applied AI innovation.

SVP, Chief AI Officer, Royal Caribbean Group

Denes Uk is a data and AI leader focused on applying scientific methods, domain expertise and mathematical modeling to improve business performance. He coined and trademarked “Enterprise AI” in 2016, emphasizing practical, impact-driven AI. He has helped organizations build scalable data and AI capabilities that deliver measurable commercial value.

VP, Global Chief AI Officer, Medtronic

Rodolphe Katra is a MedTech and healthcare transformation executive with more than 25 years of experience leading enterprise AI, digital health and advanced analytics across global healthcare organizations. At Medtronic, he founded its first enterprise AI Center of Excellence. He holds over 70 patents and focuses on scalable, patient-centered healthcare innovation.

Chief AI & Innovation Officer, BARK

Mikkel Holm is a creative AI and brand leader at BARK, where he develops marketing, storytelling and generative AI-driven campaigns. He explores the intersection of design, technology and AI tools to create engaging consumer experiences, focusing on innovative creative workflows and applied AI in modern brand building.

Chief AI Officer, AllianceBernstein

Andrew Chin is the chief AI officer at AllianceBernstein, where he leads AI-driven investment research and portfolio innovation. He focuses on integrating machine intelligence with human judgment to improve decision-making, risk modeling and portfolio construction. His work explores AI, narrative factors and advanced quantitative methods in asset management.

Chief AI Officer, Corpay

Timothy L. Pierce is Chief AI Officer at Corpay Technologies, leading enterprise AI transformation across global business units and building AI centers of excellence and governance frameworks. Former CIO of International Vehicle Payments, he has over 10 years of experience in financial services and payments, driving AI, digital transformation and analytics-led innovation.