The rise of chief AI officers: How HK firms are institutionalising AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transitioned from a digital novelty to an indispensable pillar of modern enterprise. In Hong Kong, this shift is evidenced by a growing number of organisations formalising the chief AI officer (CAIO) role to centralise leadership and accelerate adoption. 

Major financial institutions are setting the pace. HSBC recently appointed David Rice as its inaugural chief AI officer, a move designed to provide enterprise-wide leadership. The role is central to the bank’s "future-ready" strategy, focusing on embedding AI solutions that streamline internal operations while enhancing customer experience. 

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Similarly, Manulife has named Hongjuan Liu as chief AI and data officer for Hong Kong and Macau. This strategic appointment follows Manulife’s recent re-domiciliation and underscores its ambition to transform the city into an AI "Center of Excellence." 

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, said that building on the company’s global leadership in responsibly deploying AI-enabled solutions at scale, Manulife continues to advance its journey toward becoming an AI-powered organisation—a clear strategic priority.  

As AI shifts from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, Graham noted that the creation of the chief AI and data officer role for Hong Kong and Macau reflects both the growing scale and strategic importance of AI in the region, as well as the company’s commitment to responsible, well-governed adoption aligned with regulatory expectations. 

The most significant opportunity a CAIO brings isn't actually a technical one; it’s the ability to pull a company out of 'Pilot purgatory', said Eric Thain, chairperson of AI Society of Hong Kong and venture partner at e&r. "Most organisations right now are busy collecting AI tools, but they haven't figured out how to turn them into an engine. A CAIO provides that missing link by building what I call a unified decision layer. They ensure that the AI isn't just a bolt-on accessory, but a force multiplier that actually moves the needle on the P&L."

Beyond the numbers, a CAIO creates a ‘judgement moat’, he added. "In a world where every competitor has access to the exact same models, your only real competitive advantage is your unique human wisdom and how you orchestrate it."

The CAIO’s job is to architect a system where the machine handles the volume, but the human in command handles the intent, ideally with control at every layer, he added. "This allows a firm to scale its operations without suffering from functional sedation - the dangerous state where leaders stop questioning the "why" behind the machine's output."

Who owns the transformation? 

While the CAIO role is gaining traction, the "ownership" of AI varies across the market. Arthur Shek, managing partner at McKinsey Hong Kong, observes that many firms still distribute AI responsibilities among the CEO, CIO, and chief transformation officer. 

“In fact, for the most successful AI transformations, we believe the entire management team needs to drive AI across their respective areas, while also acting together as a top team,” Shek cautioned. He noted that while a CAIO signals a strong commitment to change, there is a risk of the initiative becoming "siloed" if the officer is disconnected from core business operations. 

Beyond internal alignment, the CAIO serves as a vital bridge to the outside world. Nathan Petralia, country head for Hong Kong at Ogilvy One and Verticurl, argues that a single point of accountability prevents decision paralysis. 

"A CAIO compresses the gap between identifying a use case and production deployment—the exact point where most enterprise AI programs currently lose momentum," Petralia explained. "The role provides a credible counterpart for vendors and regulators, shifting the corporate narrative from 'exploring AI' to 'executing a governed roadmap'."

However, Petralia issued a note of caution: the role is only effective if it arrives with the mandate to build a foundation. "I still see clients in APAC where identity resolution and first-party data infrastructure are immature," he said. "Appointing a CAIO on top of that doesn’t accelerate transformation; it just adds a layer of governance over an unsolved problem. The role works when it brings the budget and mandate to fix the foundation, not just to strategise above it."

The talent war and future CMO

The hunger for AI leadership is a symptom of a much broader talent hunt. Data from Deel and its partner SEEK reveals that demand for AI-related skills in Hong Kong has surged 38% since 2019. As of February 2026, AI competencies are now required in nearly 5% of all local job postings.

This shift will inevitably reshape other leadership roles, including the CMO. While future marketing leaders may not need to be experts in LLM architecture or chip-level technicalities, Shek believes they will need to master AI’s impact on marketing agility. "Future CMOs must understand how to structure a tech-savvy marketing organisation and build working models that attract AI-fluent talent," he said.

He added that for successful AI transformations, for every dollar spent on the tech, at least two to three dollars is spent on change management – changing processes, ways of working, governance, incentives and culture. "That is often the difference between pushing initiatives, and real change in how the business operates and performs because of AI."

By institutionalising AI leadership, Hong Kong firms are not just keeping pace with global trends—they are translating enterprise-level capabilities into locally relevant, high-impact solutions that are cementing the city’s status as a regional tech hub. 

In 2026, the CMO/CAIO relationship will be the most critical power duo in the C-suite, according to Thain. "The CAIO provides the infrastructure for scale, but the CMO must provide the brand guardrails and strategic goals."

"If a CMO lacks deep AI literacy, they risk falling into functional sedation - a state where they stop questioning the 'why' behind the machine's output. To remain a ‘sovereign leader,' the modern CMO must be able to audit the logic of the machine and then architect it iteratively, not just read its reports," he added.

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