Microsoft Executive Says Companies Might Be Naming 'AI Chiefs' But They Risk Losing Momentum In The Artificial Intelligence Age If They Rely On Individuals

Microsoft MSFT executive Colette Stallbaumer says companies racing to harness artificial intelligence must activate “at every level of the organization,” warning that relying on a single person for driving that change risks stalling momentum.

What Happened: Speaking at Fortune's Workplace Innovation Summit, the general manager of Microsoft 365 Copilot added that while more firms now name AI chiefs, “business leaders” have to own the transformation if skills are to scale.

Microsoft signaled that shift in March when CEO Satya Nadella moved longtime HR head Kathleen Hogan into the newly created post of chief transformation officer to steer the software giant's next phase of change “in this AI era.”

That tension of one quarterback and many owners echoed across the summit. Indeed CEO Chris Hyams said the hiring platform tapped its R&D chief to coordinate AI work because "if everyone is responsible, no one is responsible." That said, it still ties every unit's goals to Pathfinder, an AI “talent agent” due next year.

See also: Trump May ‘Want’ A Recession: Market Observer Says It Serves His Economic Agenda—Lower Rates, Oil Prices, And Trade Deficit

Why It Matters: Several tech bosses watching from afar are already forcing the issue. IBM's IBM Arvind Krishna is pausing hiring for back-office staff he expects AI to replace, targeting 7,800 positions for automation over five years.

Nvidia NVDA CEO Jensen Huang calls the talent race an "infinite game" and urges U.S. leaders to double down on reskilling after noting that half the world's AI researchers are Chinese.

Google Cloud boss Thomas Kurian told analysts that more than four million developers are already building with Gemini models, a datapoint Wedbush calls proof that bottom-up demand, not executive edict, is driving adoption.

Even at Microsoft, the push is relentless. Nadella recently touted record LinkedIn revenue and dubbed Copilot the spearhead of a new AI era, while Build 2025 delivered another raft of agent tools aimed at frontline workers.

For Stallbaumer, those anecdotes land the same punch line that companies may appoint AI leaders if they must, but true momentum arrives only when revenue chiefs, marketers and plant managers all have skin and metrics in the AI game.

Photo Courtesy: katuSka on Shutterstock.com

Read next: Frank Bisignano Had To Google Social Security When He First Got A Call For The Job: ‘What The Heck’s The Commissioner…’