The most certain seat in the building
Seventy percent of the CEO seat names the CEO as the AI signer; 2 percent report an unowned decision. Seventy percent expect payback inside six months. Thirty-four percent fund AI with money that would have gone to headcount, against 19 percent of the finance seat. Confirmed from three sides: operators name the CEO at 47 percent, investors at 51.
How every seat sees the CEO
The CEO's own chair names the CEO at 70 percent. The finance seat names the CEO at 31 and the technology seat at 26. The seats that work for the CEO name the CEO least. The two views that agree with the CEO sit outside the building: investors across portfolios and operators pooled.
The vacuum is invisible from the top
Two percent of the CEO seat reports an AI decision nobody owns. Fifteen percent of the finance seat does, and 30 percent of the technology seat. A CEO who is told the decision is owned should ask the CTO.
The rooms
Three CEO Private Dinners in the period: 193 registrations, 37 approved, 19 percent, the most selective room in the network, with 90 percent of titled guests C-level, founders, or partners. Asked what they want next, the chief executives chose AI for researching investors and competitors before AI for their own functions.
What it means for the CEO
The signature is yours by every read; the proof is not. Settle which metric vindicates the purchase and whether your CFO agrees with the date. Know that vendors are aiming at your business units and your CTO, not at you. And reconcile the AI budget with the hiring plan before you are asked to.
Who should read it
Who should read it: CEOs and founders who want to know how their peers sign, fund, and expect payback from AI, and boards preparing their AI questions.
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders, through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network. The research program draws directly from those rooms.
Read the CEO AI Leverage Report →
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley, whose network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. Its research program, including the Executive AI Leverage Report and the role editions of the Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index, is built on first-party survey data from executives attending Open Future Forum events.