Thanks to journalist Mastufa Ahmed at People Matters for including our statistics on Chief AI Officers in his article on Tech's AI superstars rake in $1 million: Are you paying enough? "As businesses accelerate their journey into the new world of AI, the demand for CAIOs has skyrocketed - particularly evident in their compensation packages eclipsing the $1m mark. Executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles reports  an average total compensation of $1,134,000 in the US and $565,000 in Europe for AI and data executives." I concur with Heidrick: 7-figure total comp packages for seasoned CAIOs reflect what I am seeing at large US publicly traded incumbents, with LTIs for them to stick around. In my research, CAIO salary/comp range is much lower at smaller companies, startups, non-profits, in academia, government, and at US federal agencies. And of course, no stock or long term incentives there. Hence the challenges in attracting and retaining AI expertise at universities, non-profits, and government at the federal, state, and local levels. Given the White House Executive Order on AI mandate that all US federal agencies hire Chief AI Officers, we'll deliver the next Chief AI Officer Summit in Wash DC on June 12 2024 to try and help the US build capacity in this critical new function. See more below... Heidrick also reports that even well-funded incumbents are struggling to fund AI initiatives: "Despite the huge increase in attention being paid to AI this year, 52% indicated that they do not have adequate funding to build the program the company needs."