We want to establish accountability for our company-wide AI strategy, but we are debating whether to create a new seat on our Accountability Chart or assign it to our existing technology manager. How do we structure this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Every major initiative must have one owner on your Accountability Chart to ensure execution. If everyone is responsible for AI, no one is. However, you do not necessarily need to create a brand-new, expensive executive seat. Start by evaluating your existing leadership team using the GWC™ framework. Does your current technology or operations manager truly get, want, and have the capacity to lead your AI integration? If they do, add AI strategy and automation to their roles and responsibilities. Their focus should be on identifying cumbersome processes that keep employees stuck in low-value tasks and using AI to streamline them.

If your current team lacks the capacity or technical understanding, you should create a dedicated seat, such as an AI Operations Specialist. This seat must report directly to your Integrator, as AI strategy impacts every single department from sales to operations. This specialist's primary accountabilities should include auditing software usage, training staff on prompt engineering, and standardizing AI workflows. By placing this role under the Integrator, you ensure that technology serves the business strategy and supports your long-term exit goals, rather than becoming an isolated IT project that fails to deliver actual operational ROI.