Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to impact C-suite structure at travel technology companies, but a philosophical divide exists in leadership approach.
Expedia Group named Xavier Amatriain its first chief AI and data officer (CAIO) in December. Not long after, Airbnb appointed Ahmad Al-Dahle as its CTO, citing his AI expertise.
The appointments come as generative AI adoption is "nearly universal" across travel, according to Phocuswright's Budgets, Barriers and the Race to Agentic AI report. Findings revealed 83% of companies are using the technology, while 13% are exploring use cases. Only 1% of respondents said they have no plans to use gen AI.
While travel giants grapple with newer hires, other industry incumbents appear split between handling AI as a tool to be managed and treating it as a fundamental shift.
To name a few: American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has implemented an AI-geared leadership framework, Skyscanner has a CAIO and Kayak relies on a CTO with AI prowess.
Bottom line, organizational clarity is vital, according to David Thompson, chief information and technology officer (CITO) at Amex GBT.
“When I look across our industry, the companies struggling with AI adoption share a common pattern: They've distributed responsibility so broadly that no one owns the outcome,” Thompson told PhocusWire.
“AI becomes everyone's side project and no one's priority.”
AI in the C-suite
At Amex GBT’s C-suite level, AI oversight is about ensuring the right systems are in place to manage risk, Thompson said. The responsibility is managed between Thompson as the CITO and the company’s chief product and strategy officer (CPSO), Evan Konwiser.
“The organizations that will lead in this space aren't waiting for the technology to stabilize,” Thompson said. “They're building the internal capacity to adapt continuously. A dedicated AI executive is how you make that structural, not accidental.”
The organizations that will lead in this space aren't waiting for the technology to stabilize.
David Thompson, Amex GBT
Thompson's role focuses on three interconnected AI responsibilities: owning technology and risk framework, internal return on investment of AI investments and sequencing AI’s entry.
Under Thompson and Konwiser, Amex GBT has an AI initiative that includes dedicated leadership assignments, measurable objectives and a budget. Much of that responsibility sits at the VP level. The idea is structured innovation with accountability rather than general experimentation.
The company is proactively shaping how AI integrates with its workflow as opposed to reacting to technological change, according to Marilyn Markham, Amex GBT's VP of enterprise AI strategy.
Meanwhile, Kayak’s structure hinges on its CTO, Yaron Zeidman. He took the role last year, initially overseeing Kayak.ai’s beta deployment.
Zeidman said a CTO who owns AI strategy is best positioned to scale the technology across a business. That ensures that AI can reach all products and operations and become part of the company’s core technology.
But he’s not opposed to the idea of a leader assigned to AI specifically. Both strategies can work as long as continuity is kept in mind.
“A dedicated AI leader can and will work for some companies as long as it comes with a focus on integration across the business [versus] standing up separate AI strategies, as that naturally can create silos,” Zeidman said.
While Zeidman said his role in building technology and products to solve problems at scale increasingly involves AI, it is not treated as a separate stream of work. Instead, AI is one of many tools.
“AI is one of the core tools we use, alongside UI, infrastructure and data, to build better solutions,” Zeidman said. “As a result, it touches more of my time because it is embedded everywhere.”
On the flipside, Piero Sierra, CAIO of Skyscanner, said the creation of a dedicated role felt necessary for the metasearch engine, and AI calls for a full company transformation.
“The pace is extreme, and keeping up is now a full-time job in itself,” Sierra said. “Creating a chief AI officer role gives that transformation clear direction, while execution remains distributed across the company.”
Sierra said his role is focused on tracking AI evolution. He’s accountable for AI vision and strategy across product, partnerships and platforms. In practice, he guides company-wide AI workstreams, makes sure data and platforms are aligned and helps the company maintain focus on what matters.
And leading by example is key.
“I code, experiment with models and tools and use AI in all my workflow,” he said. “That matters in a role like this. I also work closely with teams to turn AI into real traveller impact and durable partnerships.”
The impact for other C-suite roles
AI isn’t just impacting CTO roles or prompting the creation of CAIO positions.
Markham gave some examples of how executives may be considering the evolving technology: The chief product officer has to seize opportunities presented by AI—and they’re likely under pressure from clients and investors to provide AI features. Chief legal officers need to navigate evolving regulations. COOs have to consider how AI can improve efficiency.
Every leader needs to think about how AI changes the way work is done, Zeidman said.
“This is not a one-time shift,” he said. “It is an ongoing expectation of modern leadership.”
This is not a one-time shift.
Yaron Zeidman, Kayak
AI is pushing leaders to rethink operations from the ground up. It’s key to question whether current processes make sense or need to be redesigned with AI in mind, he said.
According to Markham, all executives should be using the technology as a “thinking partner.”
“I've found it remarkably insightful and occasionally challenging. In that respect, all executive roles stand to change. The question isn't whether AI will impact your role, it's whether you're actively engaging with it as a strategic tool.”
While Sierra is responsible for coordinating AI-related change, he said needs may evolve for shared accountability across leadership—or responsibility might consolidate under product and technology.
“For now, focus and clarity are more effective than spreading responsibility too thin,” Sierra said.
The future of AI oversight
While new roles continue to emerge, stakeholders don’t necessarily think AI-specific executive positions are permanent.
Zeidman is adamant that no single person should be in charge of AI given its wide impact, and responsibility should stay within the CTO’s remit.
Similarly, with Amex GBT’s AI current structure, Markham doesn’t see a need for a standalone AI role in the C-suite.
Additionally, she's unsure whether AI-focused roles are here to stay. AI will need someone at the helm, similar to data leadership, but in other departments, Markham said roles may fade out as AI literacy improves and becomes an expected part of how employees' skill sets.
“The transition period we're in now requires dedicated focus and champions across the enterprise,” Markham said. “But the end state? AI becomes invisible, not because it's gone, but because it's everywhere, and everyone knows how to use it.”
Even Sierra noted that the chief AI role is relatively new. While it was critical for Skyscanner to create, AI represents the “fastest-moving technology shift” anyone has seen, he said. That means the future of the role is in flux; the nature of the need requires flexibility.
With this in mind, Skyscanner said it will reassess the role annually as innovation continues.