AI is accelerating the evolution of executive leadership faster than most organizations can adapt, creating a widening gap between the future demands of leadership roles, the capabilities of current internal successors and the way boards are approaching succession planning.
New research from ON Partners—the executive search firm behind leadership placements at companies including NVIDIA—found that 94% of executives say their roles are already changing due to AI, yet only 9% of organizations substantially rethink a leadership role before filling it. According to the data, nearly 3 in 4 companies still replace leaders with a “like-for-like” candidate.
Many companies are hiring for outdated business models even as AI continues to rapidly change what leadership should look like.
See also: 4 strategies to fix your ineffective CEO succession planning
According to the report, C-suite executives report feeling far more prepared to take on AI than VP-level leaders, despite the fact that many operational and transformation responsibilities sit below the executive level. The report positions this as both an organizational alignment challenge and a growing succession risk, suggesting companies need to place greater focus on leadership development, AI fluency and planning for the future workforce.
“Leadership transitions are a strategic inflection point—an opportunity not to just replace a leader, but to rethink what the role should be,” the report said.
Senior leaders say succession isn’t proactively managed at their firms
While most senior leaders remain open to new opportunities, nearly half (46%) say succession planning at their organization is not proactively managed, meaning transition conversations often begin only after a leadership seat goes empty, resulting in compressed timelines and rushed decision-making instead of thoughtful leadership design.
The report also emphasizes that succession planning today is much more difficult, as executive roles themselves are evolving. Organizations are no longer just replacing a leader with someone similar—ideally, they should be reassessing what the business needs next, if and how the role scope should change and whether internal candidates are actually prepared for the future version of the role.
Taken together, the report highlights growing structural challenges in how organizations approach leadership continuity. Succession planning is still often treated as a reactive exercise—focused on filling roles as they open up rather than planning for what’s ahead. But in a world where AI is reshaping job scope, decision-making speed and the skills leaders need, that approach is increasingly out of step with reality.
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