UK and global companies are moving to centralise AI decision-making at the top, with the share of AI leaders reporting directly to chief executives jumping from 17% to 31% in the past year, according to Heidrick & Struggles. The firm warns that without senior accountability, businesses risk fragmented efforts and missed value.

Board agendas, once light on AI, now regularly probe risks from model bias to employee wellbeing. Some firms are pairing leadership elevation with director training and staff education. Mastercard’s Chief AI and Data Officer, Greg Ulrich, leads a centre of excellence covering risk, bias and regulatory engagement, while AXA’s “Secure GPT” platform and AI academy have drawn thousands of employee sign-ups in their first week.

An IBM Institute for Business Value survey suggests the shift is overdue: only 16% of AI projects have scaled enterprise-wide, often due to skills gaps and disjointed systems. Experts say the winning formula combines a senior AI point-person, secure enterprise tools for experimentation, and governance frameworks linking model performance to business KPIs and workforce outcomes.

With its financial, professional and tech strengths, the UK is well placed to lead on this “human-centred” AI model — if boards, HR and tech chiefs invest together in governance, training and measurable delivery. Early movers show the payoff: tighter alignment between AI strategy, risk management and the people who will use the tools.

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