AI Changes Who Gets to Build: Why CIOs Must Rewire the IT Operating Model
Heller Search Associates, Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
CIOs must transform IT operations to democratize software development as AI tools make building accessible beyond engineering teams.
Kai Chuang, CIO at Circles, argues that frontier AI models are fundamentally changing who can build software, requiring CIOs to rewire organizational structures.
He demonstrates this through Circles' experience, where approximately 80 percent of new code is now AI-generated while maintaining flat headcount and shipping two to three times faster.
The shift demands that IT leaders personally experiment with AI tools, integrate them across teams, and evolve from gatekeepers into partners in value creation.
Success requires developing hybrid skills across roles and treating IT as a portfolio of internal product teams collaborating directly with business units.