As Adoption And Governance Collide, Modern CIOs Set The Pace For AI Transformation

Traditionally defined by stewardship duties like keeping systems online, managing vendors, and ensuring stability, the role of CIO is being rewritten to govern the pace of transformation at the highest level. For the healthcare industry, pressures like labor shortages and post-COVID operational volatility demand technology leadership that lives at the center of strategy, governance, and cultural transformation.

Navigating this transformation from the front lines is Michael Skaff, a veteran technology and operations executive and CIO at Sequoia Living. As a four-time CIO and two-time COO, Skaff has built a career at the intersection of technological change and business strategy. He said that understanding the role of the modern CIO requires rethinking the job itself.

"We don’t work in technology. We work in change. AI just accelerates the pace." Skaff said that in healthcare, the acceleration of technology is a double-edged sword. While AI's ability to automate administrative tasks offers much-needed relief to a clinical workforce under significant strain, it simultaneously introduces new risks across clinical and back-office workflows.

• Data that delivers: Skaff noted that deriving results from AI demands a level of data accuracy and accessibility most organizations have yet to achieve. "Let's set the privacy and security stuff aside. The truth is, most organizations' data isn't ready to get the most out of AI. Business units may see small pieces of value, but we can help really maximize what they get from these tools."

• Purposeful pace: According to Skaff, succeeding here demands a new mindset in which CIOs act as business leaders first, relentlessly questioning the 'why' behind every process. It's a perspective that requires rejecting the unrestrained ethos of traditional tech. "We can't 'move fast and break things' in healthcare," he said. "When you do, people get hurt and care suffers."