Of the Fortune 500 companies that have appointed a top technology officer since the start of 2024, 76% have also appointed the new hire to the executive committee. That’s higher than the figure of 69% regardless of tenure — a trend reflecting broader organisational recognition that technology is a driver of long-term success.
Today's Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) are not just tech experts, they’re innovators and transformers, key business leaders who shape strategy, drive innovation, find ways to commercialise data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), and help companies enter new markets. And in the Gulf region the stakes might never have been higher for CTOs. Governments and many companies have linked their visions to deployment of advanced technologies, especially AI, and CTOs with an expanded and up-to-date skill set are essential to delivering this success GCC governments are unique in the extent of their embrace of advanced technologies as a tool for global competitiveness and economic diversification:
> The UAE aims to become a global leader in AI by 2031.
> Saudi Arabia in May launched a PIF-backed AI company called Humain that is at the centre of the country’s effort to become a global AI hub.
> Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have national AI strategies, policies or programmes. Kuwait has a National AI Strategy in the works.
Rising allure of Gulf posts
With these AI policies and a high amount of available capital, the Gulf countries present an opportunity for CTOs to make major career progress — though given the significant national stakes attached to technology, the high cost of failure must also be considered. Executive-search firms such as Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) are finding a new eagerness for Middle East postings among senior tech executives worldwide, notably from Europe, North America and China.
Dr Jan C Cron
Global narratives about the Gulf countries — ambitious, thriving, agile, willing to spend — increase the attraction and are feeding the influx of talent. As an example of this alluring new narrative, Saudi Arabia and UAE are boldly pursuing opportunities to build massive data centres. The region’s cheap energy creates a competitive advantage in operating this AI infrastructure. Even as a changing of the guard occurs in many CTO offices, digital transformation will not have an impact without cultural change in the workplace – a particular challenge in attracting Silicon Valley-calibre talent who may not be prepared for significant work in this area. For example, the view of failure in the Gulf is often that it is something to be ashamed of, whereas in Silicon Valley it is viewed as a source of valuable lessons. Tech-savvy organisations need a culture that has innovation at the forefront, engages employees, flattens hierarchies, subdues bureaucracies and accepts failure as a sign of experience.
To succeed, the new CTOs need broad skills including change leadership, strategic influence, senior stakeholder and partner management, and commercialising data analytics and AI.
The new CTOs’ capabilities should be in a T shape — strong expertise in their core vertical pillar but also the ability to connect with other departments horizontally.
What sets T-shaped leaders apart is their ability to work with an enterprise mindset, understanding interconnections across the organisation. Thanks to their diverse experiences they can better understand emerging trends and guide change. They contribute to a wide range of discussions and improve decision-making. And by identifying connections and patterns between different areas, they can make strategic decisions that consider implications across the organisation.
Looking ahead
With the rising importance of CTOs who cover a wide range, we expect companies to continue the trend of looking beyond their own walls, and even beyond their own industries, when hiring a CTO. An RRA analysis of Fortune 500 companies shows that most CTOs, 53%, were externally hired as companies recognise that leadership potential, transformation capability and diverse perspectives can outweigh traditional credentials.At a time when leadership strategy is being driven by technology, technologists make more and more sense as leaders — building bridges so there is no internal digital divide. As the preeminent technology leadership advisory partner to support organisations navigating these complex challenges, we at RRA offer these tactical and strategic recommendations regarding the CTO role:
To find CTOs with proven track records it might be necessary to hire internationally – but these leaders must be able to develop local talent for succession planning.
The potential local successors should be given experience-building assignments.
One possible way to implement the necessary cultural change is to create an agile greenfield project for key technologies, separate from the legacy organisation – though this might create challenges later in integrating the new culture back into the legacy organisation.
Consider hiring a Chief AI Officer. In the short term it can often be best to have them report to the CEO to implement change quickly, but eventually they should report to the CTO.
— Dr Jan C Cron is a member of RRA’s Board and CEO Advisory Partners, the Technology and Industry Sectors as well as the Middle East Practice.
