Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Everyone in the C-suite thinks they should own AI — the CIO, COO, CFO, chief risk officer, CHRO, and CDO can all make a compelling case. Charlene explains why that's exactly the problem, and why chief AI officers have been failing across organizations for two years. Drawing on the Four Building Blocks framework from Winning with AI, she introduces the "conductor" model: one person whose sole job is to coordinate AI's outcomes, roadmap ("the score"), and pace ("the tempo") across every department — without owning any single piece of it. Using an orchestra metaphor and the real-world example of Sandy Carter's rise to Chief Business Officer at Unstoppable Domains, Charlene lays out what the conductor role actually owns, when a CEO can (and can't) play it, and the three questions every board should be asking about AI leadership right now.
Everyone in the C-suite thinks they should own AI — the CIO, COO, CFO, chief risk officer, CHRO, and CDO can all make a compelling case. Charlene explains why that's exactly the problem, and why chief AI officers have been failing across organizations for two years. Drawing on the Four Building Blocks framework from Winning with AI, she introduces the "conductor" model: one person whose sole job is to coordinate AI's outcomes, roadmap ("the score"), and pace ("the tempo") across every department — without owning any single piece of it. Using an orchestra metaphor and the real-world example of Sandy Carter's rise to Chief Business Officer at Unstoppable Domains, Charlene lays out what the conductor role actually owns, when a CEO can (and can't) play it, and the three questions every board should be asking about AI leadership right now.
