CIO AI strategy: why HR is your workforce redesign partner

I've been in a lot of rooms with brilliant people solving workforce challenges. But the room I was in yesterday with Michael Fraccaro (Fellow and Former Chief People Officer at Mastercard) and JoAnn Stonier (Fellow of Data and AI at Mastercard) was something special.

These are two of the sharpest minds at the intersection of people, data, and AI. What we uncovered is critical. Every CHRO or CIO charting their AI transformation path needs to hear this.

Here's what we learned. And what you need to know if you're serious about building an AI-powered workforce.

1. You don't have an AI strategy if you don't have a people strategy

AI adoption might be the starting point. But as Michael pointed out, the real challenge is redesigning the workforce itself. AI isn't a tech problem. It's a workforce redesign challenge.

"This is not the time to wait to be asked," he said. "It's the time to step forward."

The message: CIOs can't silo AI into IT or innovation labs. You need HR in the room. Now. The people who will use, supervise, and adapt with AI are already on your payroll.

Every enterprise is deploying AI. Almost none can see the work they're deploying it into.

2. Start with tasks, not titles

People have skills. But jobs and work have tasks. If we keep designing for job titles, we're designing for the past.

Want to move fast with AI? Break work down to the task level. That's where the real opportunities for automation, augmentation, and reinvention live. CIOs who win will have a line of sight into:

• What tasks are ripe for AI?
• What agents are best suited?
• Where do we need to redesign workflows?

This isn't theoretical. It's operational.

3. Efficiency is just the first stop

JoAnn outlined the typical AI maturity curve:

1. Efficiency: cost savings behind the scenes.
2. Product and service improvement: personalization, quality.
3. Innovation: new business models, agentic workforces.

Where are you on that curve? What's holding you back from moving up?

Spoiler: it's usually not the tech. It's knowing where to apply it. It's guiding your workforce. It's managing the change that follows.

4. Forget the finish line. This is a permanent beta.

One of my favorite moments came when I asked: "Are we in transformation forever?"

JoAnn's answer? "Yes. And eventually it won't feel like transformation. It will just be work."

CIOs must build for adaptability, not completion. That means tech stacks, training, and team models that flex as fast as the AI itself.

5. The human side matters more than ever

Michael reminded us that AI won't just reshape workflows. It will reshape culture.

Your workforce is not a monolith. Different teams, age groups, and functions will adapt differently. Leaders must role model curiosity, transparency, and humanity.

"Tell your people you're learning too," he said. "And take them on the journey with you."

If your people don't adopt it, your AI won't deliver. Period.

Final word: this is your moment

To every CHRO or CIO reading this: you are sitting at the intersection of the biggest transformation of our time. You will either lead it or be disrupted by those who do.

You don't need all the answers.

But you do need the right partners around the table. AI, HR, Legal, Product, and a unified strategy that puts people at the center.

That's how we build boldly and responsibly. That's how we build the workforce of now.

Siobhan 💜