One of the more interesting shifts weโre seeing in technology hiring right now:
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ โ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑโ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐.
For years, the safest hire was straightforward:
Find someone who had already done the same job before, at scale, in a comparable environment.
That logic is starting to break.
Because there isnโt a deep bench of executives who have already built companies at scale in the age of AI.
Most executives who have โdone the job beforeโ did it in a fundamentally different operating environment:
- Different expectations around speed and experimentation
- Different product development cycles
- Different organizational structures
- Different definitions of technical leadership
That doesnโt make their experience irrelevant.
But it does make relying too heavily on prior experience a much less reliable way to evaluate talent.
๐ก๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ณ (๐ฐ๐ฑ%) ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฝ-๐๐ฝ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ฝ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ญ% ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ.
And across CTO, CIO, and AI leadership searches specifically, a growing number of hires are going to executives who havenโt previously held the exact C-suite title before.
Companies are becoming much more willing to hire โstep-upโ candidates into important technology leadership roles.
Not because they canโt attract seasoned executives.
But because the leaders growing into these roles are often closer to what the role is ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
Weโre seeing companies place greater value on:
- Strong execution over polished executive presence
- Adaptability over years of experience
- Curiosity and learning agility over pedigree
- Those already navigating ambiguity in real time
In many cases, the โsafeโ hire is no longer the safest hire.
Because the role itself is evolving faster than the talent market around it.
Thatโs especially true across CTO, CIO, and AI leadership roles.
The market is being built in real time.
Which means companies are increasingly betting on people who can grow into the futureโฆ not just people who perfectly matched the past.
Curious if others are seeing the same shift.
