AI leadership is rapidly becoming a boardroom priority. As organizations accelerate AI adoption, new CAIOs and AI-focused executives are emerging to drive strategy, governance, and enterprise-wide innovation. In this blog, AI Leaders Council will focus on 9 AI executives that accepted new roles in January 2026.
IHG Announces Wei Manfredi as SVP of AI and Architecture
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) announced the appointment of Wei Manfredi as senior vice president of AI and architecture. In her new role, Manfredi will guide IHG’s AI strategy, strengthen its technical and data architecture, and continue to foster partnerships with technology organizations.
Pentagon Names Cameron Stanley as CDAO
Cameron Stanley will serve as the Pentagon’s next chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO). Stanley most recently served as Amazon Web Services’ national security digital transformation lead.
Thomas Leishman Appointed CAIO at eHub
eHub, the category leader in Carrier Orchestration and Fulfillment Intelligence, announced the appointment of Thomas Leishman as Chief AI Officer (CAIO). In this role, Thomas will spearhead eHub’s AI strategy, driving innovation across product, operations, customer experience, and revenue growth.
Wiley Appoints Armughan Rafat as Chief AI and Data Services Officer
Wiley, a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence for the advancement of scientific discovery, innovation and learning, announced the appointment of Armughan Rafat as chief AI and data services officer. Rafat will lead Wiley’s AI and data services initiatives, focusing on developing and commercializing AI-ready content and data products for AI developers and corporate R&D teams.
Nancy Wang Appointed CTO and AI Lead at 1Password
1Password, a leader in identity security, announced the appointment of Nancy Wang as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), where she will lead the global engineering organization and drive the company’s AI strategy, shaping the future of identity security with a focus on trust, usability, and adoption.
Sathiyan Kutty Announced as CAIO at Emids
Emids, a technology services company focused on digital engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and platform solutions for the healthcare and life sciences industry, has appointed Sathiyan (Seth) Kutty as its Chief AI Officer. In this new role, Kutty will be responsible for leading the company’s AI and data strategy to help healthcare, life sciences, payer, and health technology clients shift from exploratory AI projects to enterprise-wide, outcome-focused implementations.
Zscaler Names Dr. Swamy Kocherlakota as EVP of Agentic AI Security Engineering
Zscaler appoints Dr. Swamy Kocherlakota as Executive Vice President of Agentic AI Security Engineering. A 30-year technology veteran who previously led AI strategy at a global financial analytics leader, Kocherlakota plans to accelerate the expansion of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™, the platform trusted by 45% of the Fortune 500 organizations, to secure agentic workflows.
UK Government Appoints Kalbir Sohi as First CAIO
The UK government has hired Kalbir Sohi to the newly-created role of chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) – the most senior AI leadership role in the country’s public sector. Sohi will oversee the AI teams at the Government Digital Service, within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and lead testing and scaling exercises across government.
WP Engine Appoints Thierry Muller as VP of AI Products
WP Engine, a global web enablement company providing premium products and solutions for websites built on WordPress®¹, announced the appointment of Thierry Muller as vice president of AI products. Muller will join the product and engineering leadership team to lead the company’s pivotal AI initiatives.
