Companies across industries, ranging from IT services and technology platforms to financial services, healthcare and retail, are rapidly expanding their leadership teams with senior artificial intelligence (AI) professionals, signalling a decisive shift from experimentation to enterprise-wide AI deployment. This hiring trend is not restricted to reshaping organisational structures but is also driving a sharp increase in compensation for AI leadership roles.
Salaries for chief AI officers (CAIO) now typically range between Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.5 crore annually, while heads of AI and machine learning can command packages of up to Rs 1.5 crore. With demand far outstripping available talent, companies are even willing to offer Rs 35-40 lakh per year to candidates with just four years of experience, especially those with hands-on expertise in large language models (LLMs), generative AI systems, and enterprise-scale AI deployments.
This spike in hiring is being led not just by technology firms but also by traditional businesses looking to embed AI across operations and customer-facing functions. Financial firms, manufacturing majors, healthcare giants, and retail chains are all building AI-driven strategies and bringing in senior leaders to drive execution and governance.
Recent high-profile appointments include Deepak Agarwal as CAIO at LinkedIn, Anil Pawar at Yotta Data Services, and Siddharth Sureka at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Jindal Steel and Power has hired Ritesh Mohan Srivastava to lead its AI efforts, and SAP Labs India has brought in Sudhakar Singh to focus on trustworthy AI initiatives. TVS Motor Group was an early mover in this space, naming Mahesh Calavai as chief digital and AI officer as early as January 2022.
Within the IT services sector, leading players are also making significant leadership changes to reflect their AI priorities. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently elevated Aarthi Subramanian to the role of executive director-president and COO, and appointed Mangesh Sathe as chief strategy officer to bolster its focus on AI, data, and cloud. LTIMindtree has created a dedicated AI services business group, led by Nachiket Deshpande as president, to steer global AI initiatives.
A joint study by Nasscom and Boston Consulting Group released earlier this year pointed out that 70% of the country’s technology services companies have already created dedicated AI leadership roles. With the domestic AI market projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25-35% through 2027, the trend is set to accelerate.
An analyst at a top staffing firm noted that AI leadership roles in India grew by 40-60% in FY25 over the previous year. “What we are seeing is a shift from pilot projects to full-scale AI adoption. Companies are appointing AI heads not just to oversee technology but to integrate AI into their core strategy, drive measurable business outcomes, and manage responsible AI deployment,” the analyst said.
He also pointed to the rise of adjacent roles such as AI ethics specialists, governance policy analysts, AI learning architects, and engineers focused on generative AI. These roles, while still emerging, are becoming essential to support the growing complexity of AI deployments in large enterprises.
Analysts expect the demand for experienced AI leaders to maintain double-digit growth into FY26 and beyond.
