AI transformation doesn’t fail because of technology. It fails because the leadership structure can’t keep pace with it.
Andy Fitze, Co-Founder of SwissCognitive, World-Leading AI Network – Originally published in Andy’s AI Almanac
According to BCG’s latest Widening AI Value Gap report, only 5% of companies are achieving AI value at scale, while 60% admit to seeing little or no material impact despite substantial investments.
Another 35% are making progress, but most are stuck in transition. Caught between pilot success and enterprise execution.
The data tells a simple story: most of the companies don’t have an AI problem. They have a leadership problem.
AI adoption is not AI maturity
The numbers from Wavestone’s Global AI Survey 2025 paint the same picture. 70% of organisations already place AI at the heart of their strategy, yet only 30% of employees have meaningfully changed how they work.
The rest continue as before: new technology, same behaviour.
This is what I call the illusion of adoption.
Slides are updated, strategies are rewritten, but the real engine of transformation, governance, shared understanding, and aligned execution, still runs on old fuel.
Among the most mature organisations, the barriers are no longer about tools or computing. They’re about responsible scaling, governance, and leadership alignment.
The less mature still struggle with silos, talent shortages, and budget prioritisation. Different stages, same root cause: the absence of a clear leadership structure around AI.
Leadership’s AI fluency is the missing operating system
KPMG’s Global CEO Outlook 2025 confirms that 71% of CEOs list AI as a top investment priority, but only 23% identify AI literacy as a key leadership skill.
That gap should concern every board.
The same survey shows that nearly 80% of CEOs feel under pressure to secure long-term prosperity while balancing ethics, regulation, and workforce readiness. Yet when asked about real governance frameworks or measurable oversight, confidence fades quickly.
This is not because leaders lack commitment. It’s because AI has evolved faster than corporate governance.
Boards were designed for oversight, not orchestration. But AI blurs those lines. It touches every process, every risk, every role, and without a shared understanding at the top, responsibility gets delegated to the wrong layers.
AI cannot stay an IT topic. It belongs in the boardroom, where decisions about risk, accountability, and business value are made.
Bridging the leadership gap
We see this in every workshop we deliver.
AI projects thrive in pilots but stall at scale. Leadership and strategy drift apart. Oversight moves in one direction, execution in another.
Not because of lack of effort, but because the conversation between technology, data, and leadership is missing a common language.
This is why we created the AI Board Excellence Program: to equip boards with practical fluency, shared frameworks, and the confidence to govern AI responsibly and effectively.
We don’t teach algorithms. We teach accountability.
The difference between intent and impact lies in leadership alignment, understanding where AI truly creates value, what risks it introduces, and how to govern both without slowing down innovation.
From strategy to stewardship
The BCG, Wavestone, and KPMG studies all reach the same conclusion from different angles: AI is embedded in business strategy, but not yet in business governance.
Leadership maturity – not model performance – defines the gap between pilots and performance.
The “future-built” companies that succeed don’t just invest in AI. They invest in structure, in clear roles, shared ownership between IT and every department of the organisation, and a board that drives AI as a strategic and ethical responsibility.
And this is where the real differentiator lies.
The same BCG 2025 research shows exactly how this shared ownership looks in practice
Technology will keep evolving faster than any board can.
Leading with AI fluency is the ability to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and steer responsibly.
And this is what will decide which companies lead the AI era, and which just follow the headlines.
Sources, articles:
– BCG – The Widening AI Value Gap (October 2025) https://media-publications.bcg.com/The-Widening-AI-Value-Gap-October-2025.pdf
– Wavestone – Global AI Survey 2025: AI Adoption https://www.wavestone.com/en/insight/global-ai-survey-2025-ai-adoption/#download
– KPMG – Global CEO Outlook 2025 https://kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/value-creation/global-ceo-outlook-survey.html
About Andy:
Andy Fitze, digital cognitive strategist, top global AI and digital transformation advisor for start-ups and enterprise boards, tactical leader, AI influencer and keynote speaker. With Dalith Steiger, Andy is the co-founder of the award-winning SwissCognitive. He is president of the Swiss IT Leadership Forum, a member of the Board of Directors of ICTSwitzerland and SwissICT, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Service Management Partners. Andy is a lecturer and Member of the Strategic Advisory Board at Bern University of Applied Sciences. To share his 30 years of extensive knowledge and experience, he is often seen on global stages. He is also a passionate skipper on the oceans – providing him with a great balance for head and soul.
AI transformation doesn’t fail because of technology. It fails because the leadership structure can’t keep pace with it.
Andy Fitze, Co-Founder of SwissCognitive, World-Leading AI Network – Originally published in Andy’s AI Almanac
Another 35% are making progress, but most are stuck in transition. Caught between pilot success and enterprise execution.
The data tells a simple story: most of the companies don’t have an AI problem. They have a leadership problem.
AI adoption is not AI maturity
The numbers from Wavestone’s Global AI Survey 2025 paint the same picture. 70% of organisations already place AI at the heart of their strategy, yet only 30% of employees have meaningfully changed how they work.
The rest continue as before: new technology, same behaviour.
This is what I call the illusion of adoption.
Slides are updated, strategies are rewritten, but the real engine of transformation, governance, shared understanding, and aligned execution, still runs on old fuel.
Among the most mature organisations, the barriers are no longer about tools or computing. They’re about responsible scaling, governance, and leadership alignment.
The less mature still struggle with silos, talent shortages, and budget prioritisation. Different stages, same root cause: the absence of a clear leadership structure around AI.
Leadership’s AI fluency is the missing operating system
KPMG’s Global CEO Outlook 2025 confirms that 71% of CEOs list AI as a top investment priority, but only 23% identify AI literacy as a key leadership skill.
That gap should concern every board.
The same survey shows that nearly 80% of CEOs feel under pressure to secure long-term prosperity while balancing ethics, regulation, and workforce readiness. Yet when asked about real governance frameworks or measurable oversight, confidence fades quickly.
This is not because leaders lack commitment. It’s because AI has evolved faster than corporate governance.
Boards were designed for oversight, not orchestration. But AI blurs those lines. It touches every process, every risk, every role, and without a shared understanding at the top, responsibility gets delegated to the wrong layers.
AI cannot stay an IT topic. It belongs in the boardroom, where decisions about risk, accountability, and business value are made.
Bridging the leadership gap
We see this in every workshop we deliver.
AI projects thrive in pilots but stall at scale. Leadership and strategy drift apart. Oversight moves in one direction, execution in another.
Not because of lack of effort, but because the conversation between technology, data, and leadership is missing a common language.
This is why we created the AI Board Excellence Program: to equip boards with practical fluency, shared frameworks, and the confidence to govern AI responsibly and effectively.
We don’t teach algorithms. We teach accountability.
The difference between intent and impact lies in leadership alignment, understanding where AI truly creates value, what risks it introduces, and how to govern both without slowing down innovation.
From strategy to stewardship
The BCG, Wavestone, and KPMG studies all reach the same conclusion from different angles: AI is embedded in business strategy, but not yet in business governance.
Leadership maturity – not model performance – defines the gap between pilots and performance.
The “future-built” companies that succeed don’t just invest in AI. They invest in structure, in clear roles, shared ownership between IT and every department of the organisation, and a board that drives AI as a strategic and ethical responsibility.
And this is where the real differentiator lies.
The same BCG 2025 research shows exactly how this shared ownership looks in practice
Technology will keep evolving faster than any board can.
Leading with AI fluency is the ability to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and steer responsibly.
And this is what will decide which companies lead the AI era, and which just follow the headlines.
Sources, articles:
– BCG – The Widening AI Value Gap (October 2025) https://media-publications.bcg.com/The-Widening-AI-Value-Gap-October-2025.pdf
– Wavestone – Global AI Survey 2025: AI Adoption https://www.wavestone.com/en/insight/global-ai-survey-2025-ai-adoption/#download
– KPMG – Global CEO Outlook 2025 https://kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/value-creation/global-ceo-outlook-survey.html
About Andy:
Andy Fitze, digital cognitive strategist, top global AI and digital transformation advisor for start-ups and enterprise boards, tactical leader, AI influencer and keynote speaker. With Dalith Steiger, Andy is the co-founder of the award-winning SwissCognitive. He is president of the Swiss IT Leadership Forum, a member of the Board of Directors of ICTSwitzerland and SwissICT, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Service Management Partners. Andy is a lecturer and Member of the Strategic Advisory Board at Bern University of Applied Sciences. To share his 30 years of extensive knowledge and experience, he is often seen on global stages. He is also a passionate skipper on the oceans – providing him with a great balance for head and soul.
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