Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the role of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs), transforming them from traditional people managers into strategic AI architects who bridge technology, workforce development, and business strategy. According to Thomas Hutzschenreuter, a professor at the Technical University of Munich, the workplace paradigm has shifted from separating employees and technology to embracing human-AI collaboration as the new standard.
Three major organizations shared insights on how they’re navigating this transformation. At Citizens Bank, CHRO Susan LaMonica describes how HR leaders are becoming “architects of the future of work,” grappling with critical questions about entry-level roles, emerging positions, and reskilling strategies. Her team is developing baseline skills and capabilities while maintaining regulatory compliance, emphasizing the need for employees who can “quickly learn, adapt, and change.” The bank is pushing to decentralize AI capabilities while ensuring proper risk management and governance.
Boston Consulting Group’s Chief People Officer Alicia Pittman reveals that AI now represents a quarter of their business, a dramatic shift from just two years ago. The firm has achieved remarkable adoption rates, with 90% of their workforce using AI regularly and over half using it daily. To support this transformation, BCG deployed a 1,400-person enablement network serving as evangelists and coaches, upskilled more than 100 team coaches, and integrated AI throughout their recruiting platform, consolidating six IT systems into one. They’re experimenting with voice tools, chat interfaces, and AI avatars for real-time coaching.
UiPath’s Chief People Officer Agi Garaba focuses on agentic AI, describing an AI agent nearly in production that streamlines performance reviews by helping employees write self-assessments and consolidating manager feedback. She challenges the misconception that AI only affects entry-level positions, noting that highly skilled professions in medicine and aviation are also being transformed. Garaba emphasizes that while fear is natural, it should “fuel curiosity and development,” urging professionals across all levels to take career development seriously as AI capabilities expand.
Key Quotes
The old model of HR was employees over here, technology over there. But the new model of work is human-AI collaboration.
Thomas Hutzschenreuter, professor at Technical University of Munich, articulates the fundamental paradigm shift in workplace organization. This quote captures how AI is no longer a separate tool but an integrated collaborator, requiring HR to expand their mandate beyond traditional people management into technology strategy.
We need people who can quickly learn, adapt, and change. Our technologists need to develop their business acumen, and our business folks need to develop their digital and technical fluency. The lines are blurring.
Susan LaMonica, CHRO of Citizens Bank, describes the new skill requirements for the AI-driven workforce. This highlights the critical shift toward hybrid capabilities where technical and business skills must converge, fundamentally changing how organizations approach talent development and hiring.
Today, a quarter of our business involves AI, which wasn’t true even two years ago. We need our people to be AI fluent. About 90% of our workforce uses AI regularly, and more than half use it daily.
Alicia Pittman, Chief People Officer at Boston Consulting Group, provides concrete metrics showing the rapid acceleration of AI adoption. These numbers demonstrate that AI integration is not a gradual process but an exponential transformation requiring immediate workforce adaptation.
We have this idea that AI is only affecting entry-level or lower-level jobs. The truth is that technology is replacing skills that very highly skilled people have been doing. If you look at the medical field and aviation — areas where we always thought technology wouldn’t touch — that’s no longer the case.
Agi Garaba, Chief People Officer at UiPath, challenges common misconceptions about AI’s impact. This quote is particularly significant as it warns that no profession is immune to AI disruption, urging professionals at all levels to proactively develop new skills rather than assume their expertise provides protection.
Our Take
The convergence of HR leadership and AI strategy represents one of the most underreported yet consequential shifts in the AI revolution. While much attention focuses on technical capabilities and product development, the human infrastructure required to deploy AI effectively is equally critical. What’s particularly striking is the speed of change—BCG’s shift from zero to 25% AI-driven business in under two years suggests many organizations are underestimating how quickly they’ll need to transform. The emphasis on governance and ethics from Citizens Bank is crucial, especially in regulated industries where AI deployment carries significant risk. Most telling is the acknowledgment that highly skilled professionals face disruption, not just routine workers. This challenges comfortable narratives about AI augmentation and demands honest conversations about workforce displacement and continuous reskilling. CHROs are becoming the linchpin of successful AI transformation, and organizations that fail to elevate HR to strategic technology partners will struggle to compete in an AI-driven economy.
Why This Matters
This article captures a pivotal moment in the evolution of human resources and workplace transformation. As AI moves from experimental technology to core business infrastructure, CHROs are being thrust into strategic roles that require deep technical understanding alongside traditional people management skills. The statistics are striking: BCG’s revelation that AI represents 25% of their business in just two years demonstrates the velocity of change, while their 90% AI adoption rate shows this isn’t a future trend—it’s happening now.
The implications extend far beyond HR departments. When major financial institutions like Citizens Bank and global consultancies restructure their talent strategies around AI collaboration, it signals a fundamental shift in how all organizations will operate. The blurring lines between technical and business roles means every professional needs to develop hybrid skills. Perhaps most significant is the acknowledgment from UiPath’s Garaba that AI is disrupting highly skilled professions, not just entry-level positions—challenging assumptions about job security and forcing a reckoning about continuous learning across all career stages. This transformation will reshape hiring practices, training programs, and organizational structures across industries.