There will soon be changes in the management team in the middle of the year

The summer rush for technology leadership appointments has begun as leading companies across sectors hire and promote new technology leaders.

JPMorgan, BNY AND City each called themselves a technology leader, sparking a shift in leadership in financial services.

Gap, Inc., Card payment AND Little Caesars also made appointments, with roles spanning the gamut from CIO to CTO. And Northwestern Mutual named its next Director of Digital and Information.

Analysts and pundits are linking the numerous appointments, all announced in the past four weeks, to the fiscal year coming to a close. Compensation schedules and the relentless pace of technology development over the past 18 months could also play a role.

They say the mid-year appointment means executives can spend the remaining months of the year acclimatizing. Daniel Sanchez Reina, Vice President of Analytics at Gartner“That learning curve is six to nine months long, so it’s clear to me that they’re preparing for 2025.”

Some companies align their fiscal year with the calendar year, starting in January. “If you’re counting, that’s six months away,” Sanchez Reina said. Many U.S. companies start their fiscal year in April, giving new CEOs the rest of 2024 to figure out the intricacies of their new roles.

Companies considering technology leadership changes are looking for leaders who can democratize technology, enabling more parts of the organization to produce digital outcomes, Sanchez Reina said.

“The bigger your company gets, the bigger your expectations are for digital and generative AI,” Sanchez Reina said. “The only way to make that happen, the only way to accelerate time to market and speed to value, is to have a CIO with a democratized mindset.”

Businesses want technology—now

The urgent need for technological advancement is a significant driver of change, as new strategies often require a new governance structure.

According to the company, since 2022, enterprises have been focusing on generative AI, which has changed the situation Brian Jackson, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

“Every time investors call, they ask, ‘What is the generative AI strategy?’” Jackson said. If leaders at the forefront of technology can’t answer that question at their companies, it could prompt CEOs to consider making a change, according to Jackson.

The companies that have been naming technology leaders in recent weeks have had a variety of motivations. Card payment, Gap AND North West MutuaWe’ve all had or announced a CEO change in the past 12 months. That change can spur other CEO changes as CEOs expand their internal circle.

Gap CEO Richard Dicksonn, who previously served as chief operating officer at Mattel, has hired chief technology officer Sven Gerjets to return to the role he held at the toy maker.

In other cases, companies must replace departing executives, such as JPMorgan, which named a company-wide technology chief as former CTO AJ Lang headed into retirement.

Some companies have made clear plans to adopt AI in their leadership updates. PayPal highlighted Srini Venkatesan’s experience in digital transformation and AI personalization, while Citi has tasked Tim Ryan, its new head of technology and business enablement, with “making sure our businesses are fully AI-enabled.”

According to Martha Heller, CEO of Heller Search, a key factor influencing changes in the management team is plans to implement new technologies.

“From an innovation and cyber perspective, AI has caused CEOs to take a great deal of urgency about technology leadership,” Heller said.

Question about compensation

Executives looking to transition into a new role should also be mindful of standard compensation cycles, which include bonus payments.

Heller said senior executives may be holding on to their jobs and putting off potential job searches until they receive their annual performance bonuses, which could be a potential factor in the number of mid-year nominations.

“That typically happens in the first quarter,” Heller said. “There are salary issues for candidates who start in the middle of the year, rather than the end of the year.”