IBM Consulting:
CIO’s New Agenda for AI
AI is moving from pilot projects to the center of how large companies operate, and CIOs own the transition. IBM Consulting's Andy Baldwin shares practical advice for the next 12 months.
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The CIO AI agenda for 2026 has moved beyond pilot projects, as AI is becoming the foundation of how large companies operate. This conversation examines what technology leaders at the world's largest companies are telling IBM, where AI is paying back, and what CIOs should do over the next 12 months to redesign operations, govern growing fleets of AI agents, and buy AI capability without locking into a single vendor.
Key Points
- Baldwin shares what CIOs at the world's largest companies want from AI, the obstacles they keep hitting, and where it pays back.
- IBM research finds most executives unprepared to govern fleets of AI agents, so the discussion covers guardrails that do not slow the business.
- Buying AI capability gets specific advice, from asset-based consulting to build-versus-rent and avoiding vendor lock-in.
Related Episodes
Every CIO is under pressure to move AI from experiments to daily operations. In episode 924 of CXOTalk, Andy Baldwin, Senior Vice President of Consulting Offerings and Growth at IBM Consulting, explains what technology leaders at the world's largest companies are telling IBM and what should be on the CIO's AI agenda for the next 12 months. Baldwin co-authored IBM's forecast that by 2030, AI will not simply support the business model; it will be the business model.
Baldwin oversees AI-enabled offerings across IBM Consulting, a $21 billion business. Before joining IBM in 2025, he spent more than two decades at EY, where he led global client service operations spanning more than 200,000 professionals across 154 countries.
What we will cover:
- What CIOs of the world's largest companies are telling IBM they want from AI, and the obstacles they keep hitting
- Where AI is paying back at scale today, with real examples
- The CIO AI agenda for the next 12 months, working backward from IBM's 2030 forecast
- What to do about the control gap: IBM finds two-thirds of CIOs accountable for AI systems they do not fully control
- How to stop agent sprawl and shadow AI without killing the speed the business wants
- How to buy AI capability: asset-based consulting from the buyer's side, build versus rent, and keeping the exit door open
Watch Episode 924 with Andy Baldwin live on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET on CXOTalk. Subscribe for key takeaways from every episode and advance notice of live shows.
Episode Participants
Andy Baldwin is Senior Vice President of Offerings and Growth for IBM Consulting. He leads the company’s asset-based consulting transformation, focused on advancing its AI-enabled offerings and scaling its go-to-market engine.
Michael Krigsman is a globally recognized analyst, strategic advisor, and industry commentator known for his deep expertise in business transformation, innovation, and AI leadership.