Digital and AI–versed Leadership becomes Mainstream 

When Nestlé faced critical disruptions [such as the rapid pivot to e-commerce and unprecedented global supply chain shocks due to Covid-19] in their consumer engagement and supply chain management, they turned to their Chief Digital Officer, Filippo Catalano, who joined the company from Procter & Gamble. Under his leadership, Nestlé integrated AI, Advanced Data Analytics, and IoT into their operations, enhancing consumer insights and significantly streamlining supply chain efficiencies. 

Catalano’s example highlights a broader trend: AI and digital skills are no longer optional but essential for executives. The rapid pace of digital innovation reshapes industries and redefines competitive dynamics, making digital expertise a critical differentiator in executive hiring decisions – also for general management roles.

Industries traditionally slow to digitalize, such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, now increasingly rely on executives who understand and leverage digital tools to create competitive advantages. A recent report by Zero100 found that digital leaders in supply chain management are significantly more likely to hire executives with strong change management, analytics, and AI/ML capabilities.  

This underscores a broader trend where sectors are increasingly driven by technological expertise and rely on skilled leaders. For this reason, organizations are adjusting their executive evaluation approaches, now incorporating AI and digital competency metrics to accurately gauge candidate suitability.  

Effective digital leadership extends beyond technology proficiency, encompassing strategic management of organizational change. Research suggests that digitally advanced leadership correlates with significantly higher profitability due to effective alignment between digital strategy and overarching business goals. This strategic alignment allows companies to rapidly adapt to market changes and sustain competitive advantage.  

To thrive in the intelligent age, organizations must cultivate and empower AI-and digitally-versed leaders who can drive innovation, navigate complexity, and unlock new sources of value. These leaders are not just tech-savvy, they possess the strategic foresight to integrate AI into core business functions, foster data-driven cultures, and accelerate digital transformation across the enterprise.  

Six Digital Key Competencies for Leaders in the Age of A

• Strategic AI Integration: Executives must integrate AI strategically into core business processes rather than isolated projects. Counterintuitively, successful AI adoption is less about the technology itself and more about aligning it seamlessly with broader business objectives and ensuring it enhances rather than disrupts existing workflows.
• Advanced Data Literacy: Leaders must be deeply data-literate, not just able to read and interpret data, but capable of critically questioning data-driven recommendations and predictions. This requires an advanced understanding of data science that goes beyond surface-level analytics and moves toward predictive modeling and complex scenario planning.
• Change Management and Cultural Agility: While technological competence is crucial, effective leaders must excel in managing human aspects of AI and digital transformation. Interestingly, leaders who are most effective in digital roles often prioritize empathy and communication as much as technical prowess, understanding that lasting change requires genuine buy-in from teams.
• Cybersecurity Awareness as Leadership Responsibility: Leaders must treat cybersecurity not merely as an IT issue but as a fundamental business risk management area. Surprisingly, the most successful digital executives today proactively involve themselves in cybersecurity strategy, reflecting its critical importance in preserving business integrity and consumer trust.
• Sustainability through Digital Innovation: Executives are increasingly expected to lead sustainability initiatives via digital innovation. Unconventionally, this involves not just implementing technologies to achieve efficiencies but strategically deploying them to unlock entirely new business models centered around sustainability and environmental stewardship.
• Hybrid Leadership: In a world of increasingly remote and hybrid workplaces, executives must master digital tools to lead distributed teams effectively. Successful hybrid leadership requires not only proficiency in virtual collaboration platforms but also the ability to foster trust, maintain cohesion, and sustain productivity across time zones and work environments.

Without such leadership, organizations risk falling behind more agile, future-ready competitors. Now is the time for organizations to invest in upskilling executives and building leadership teams capable of steering bold, AI-and Digital-powered transformation.

Three Strategies for CEOs and CHROs to secure Top Digital Executive

• Nurturing Digital Leaders Internally: To address the shortage of digitally skilled executives, leading companies proactively nurture digital leadership internally by investing in continuous executive education and attractive career development opportunities. 
• Attracting and Developing Young Digital Talent: A sustainable leadership pipeline starts with identifying, attracting, and developing high–potential young professionals with strong digital and analytical skills. The best performing organizations not only offer compelling entry opportunities, structured development programs, and early leadership exposure but also build practical experience through rotational programs, mentorship, and cross– functional digital projects. 
• Executive Search for Digital Champions:  Securing proven digital leaders from the market remains essential, particularly those who operate under the radar. Many of the most effective digital executives are not active on public platforms or open to traditional recruiting channels. Specialized executive search consultants with deep networks and sector-specific insight identify and engage these top performers, that are often discreet and under the radar. 

Winning organizations are those that anticipate disruption and turn it into opportunity. As AI and digital capabilities move to the core of value creation, leadership must evolve in step. The future belongs to those who actively shape it, by empowering leaders to align technology with business ambition, foster agile cultures, and orchestrate enterprise-wide transformation. Leading organizations are investing early: nurturing digital talent from within, expanding strategic skillsets, and partnering with expert search firms to uncover high-impact digital leaders who may not surface through conventional channels. These executives bring more than technical know-how; They bring the clarity, adaptability, and cross-functional influence needed to accelerate innovation and execution. By building leadership teams fluent in digital strategy, data-driven decision-making, and cultural transformation, high-performing organizations position themselves to lead proactively, not just react, in an increasingly intelligent economy.

/ About the Author

• Dr. Edgar Kirchmann is the Managing Director at Deininger Unternehmensberatung GmbH, a premier executive search firm. With over two decades of experience in top-tier leadership advisory, Dr. Kirchmann has personally overseen hundreds of executive placements, specializing in C-suite and senior leadership roles for organizations navigating complex digital and AI transformations. His expertise spans critical sectors including consumer goods, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, where he focuses on identifying and securing digitally-versed leaders crucial for strategic decision-making, operational agility, and long-term value creation in the intelligent age. He is particularly adept at unearthing “under-the-radar” digital champions who possess both deep technological acumen and the strategic foresight to integrate AI into core business functions.