Leading Through Transformation: The Evolving Role of a Biotech and Biopharma CIO

AI is transforming C-level roles across industries—but its impact on the Chief Information Officer (CIO) role at biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies is mission-critical. For these companies, where every decision either accelerates or impedes the path from scientific discovery to patient impact, technology functions as a critical connector linking employees, partners, providers, and patients. In this ecosystem, strong technology leadership is a competitive advantage, particularly as companies scale from research to commercialization. Investing in a strong CIO empowers biotech and biopharma companies to innovate faster, operate more efficiently, reduce operating costs, and continue delivering medicine to patients safely and on time.

As with many functions across the value chain, the CIO must play a dual role in today’s AI-enabled environment: an innovator who unlocks new capabilities and an integrator who ensures seamless execution. Korn Ferry experts explore what this transformation looks like for biotech and biopharma companies at various stages of development, and what a next-generation CIO can contribute as a company evolves.  

From IT to Technology Enablement: The Next-Generation CIO

CIOs have shifted from providing operational support to functioning as strategic leaders who embed technology to create value across the business. For biotech and biopharma companies, adopting AI-driven discovery and R&D tools requires a technology leader with the right combination of skills and experience to help the company scale effectively.

While many organizations hire a CIO to serve as the top technology officer of the enterprise, some view consolidating all technology responsibilities under one executive as unrealistic. As organizations evolve their infrastructure, some may choose to split the role between a CIO and a Chief Data Officer. In these cases, the CIO oversees IT infrastructure, architecture, and operations, while the Chief Data Officer focuses on leveraging data and analytics for AI enablement. Although this approach can address specific capability gaps, we generally see greater enterprise alignment, accountability, and execution under unified technology leadership.

Proactive and innovative, the next-generation CIO leverages advanced capabilities—both internally and through external partners—to accelerate the business. Depending on the company’s stage of growth, the CIO may oversee IT, data strategy and integrity, AI enablement, and scalable digital infrastructure to support expansion. This leader also drives core digital initiatives such as cloud computing, advanced analytics, and AI to enable high-performance outcomes. They operate as a business leader, collaborating with other members of the C-suite and scientific executives to deploy technology that improves research, streamlines operations, and accelerates commercialization.  

AI-Driven or AI-Augmented: Defining the Future

While a small number of companies in the sector are AI-driven—using AI to power the drug discovery process—most are AI-augmented, leveraging AI technology to improve operational efficiencies. Companies founded as AI-driven drug discovery engines have different needs than AI-augmented companies embedding AI into existing operations.  These differences call for technology leaders capable of driving innovation and productivity initiatives across the value chain.

Most AI-driven companies are built around AI and possess core technology talent and capabilities from inception. The top technologist is often part of the founding team, with a replacement emerging only if the core technology evolves or the company scales significantly.

For AI-augmented enterprises seeking to bring a high volume of new drugs to patients quickly and efficiently, hiring a top technology leader happens later as the company matures. This CIO must understand how AI can accelerate drug discovery, development, and commercialization.

To be successful, CIOs should prioritize the following activities:

• Delegate traditional IT responsibilities to focus on scaling advanced platforms and models that create competitive advantages.
• Use AI to improve productivity by automating manual workflows and enabling more efficient back-office operations.
• Launch pilot AI initiatives before implementing the technology broadly within a business function—such as commercial analytics—or rolling it out enterprise-wide.

From a competency standpoint, the CIO of an AI-augmented company must possess both AI literacy and strategic agility, shaping an evolving roadmap as the technology matures and the operations adapt to increasing scale and complexity. They must also serve as an AI evangelist—bridging the gap between innovation and execution by building understanding, leading adoption, and establishing trust across the organization.

For scaled global biopharmaceutical companies, as well as for high-growth organizations approaching Phase III clinical trials, and preparing for commercial launch, business, operational and technological solutions become more complex.

At this stage, a broader spectrum of AI capabilities should be considered by the CIO, with a focus on the following priorities:

• Streamline clinical operations by accelerating patient recruitment through predictive analytics, enhancing protocol design, and improving real-time trial monitoring.
• Advance post-approval pharmacovigilance by detecting patterns of adverse events and automating signal detection.
• Use large language models (LLMs) to enhance commercial operations by optimizing supply chain forecasting, personalizing physician engagement through segmentation and targeting, and refining market access strategies using real-world evidence.
• Leverage natural language processing (NLP) tools to mine scientific literature, competitive intelligence, and anonymized records to inform medical affairs and R&D decisions.

When to Hire a Next-Generation CIO

The inflection point for hiring a CIO often comes when companies transition from Phase II to Phase III clinical trials. At this stage, the organization faces substantial growth in data, operational complexity, and regulatory scrutiny. A strategic, next-generation CIO becomes essential to architect scalable systems, ensure compliance, and support clinical data integration while laying the groundwork for commercialization.

While the ideal time to hire a CIO is in the transition from Phase II to Phase III clinical trials, some organizations may delay this investment.  In these cases, Phase III biotech firms transitioning into a commercial outfit should hire a next-generation CIO to increase agility and strengthen compliance. This investment is not only an operational enhancement—it is essential for sustained market success.

Technology is central to innovation, growth, and differentiation. For high-growth biotechnology and biopharma companies, success depends on integrating digital strategy with business strategy. By appointing next-generation tech leadership early, biotech firms can reduce risk, improve cross-functional collaboration, and accelerate the path to market. The most effective CIOs position technology not only as an enabler, but as a catalyst for transformation, differentiation, and growth.

To find out how Korn Ferry helps biotech and biopharma CIOs reimagine their roles, learn more about our Technology and Digital capabilities.