"Someone Has to Step Up": Jeni Fitzpatrick on Who Owns AI Change
North Highland's Chief People & Technology Officer joined HR Leaders' 2026 Workforce Transformation Summit to make the case that decisive leadership, not committee consensus, determines which organizations actually move.
Most organizations know they need to act on AI. The ones falling behind have something in common: no one has decided who leads.
That was the thread running through Jeni Fitzpatrick's contributions to the CHRO-CIO Alliance panel at the 2026 Global Workforce Transformation Summit, hosted by HR Leaders in June. Fitzpatrick, North Highland's Chief People & Technology Officer, joined senior leaders from AXA, ISS, and Visier to examine what it actually takes for HR and technology functions to co-lead AI-driven change.
Her perspective carries weight because she sits in both seats. Her advice in three clips:
Who should own AI-enabled transformation?
Q: Where should ownership sit when it comes to AI-enabled transformation, with HR, technology, the business, or a shared executive partnership?
"The answer right now is it should sit with the leader who is most passionate and capably able to lead and truly own it. What I think is most critical is less about where the ownership lies. Someone has to take point and play that role. Leaving it unclear, leading it by committee is so often where organizations today are slowing down."
The technology is the easy part.
Q: What are the biggest points of friction between people strategy and technology strategy, and how can executive teams work through those tensions faster?
"For decades, the technology itself was the hard part. Now that's flipped. Using the tools is straightforward – the harder ask is the thinking: understanding how AI works, what it produces, and why, and expecting that of everyone."
People-first and AI-first are not in conflict.
Q: Are we people-first or AI-first, and how do leaders hold that tension?
"To me, the answer has to be both. It can be both. They are not opposed to each other. The opportunity is for us not to think about the people impact as the interesting work going away. No, the work gets more interesting. We can finally create roles for people that are incredibly interesting and powerful and impactful, not tedious."
Jeni’s closing advice:
"Somebody should, anybody can, nobody did. The opportunity is somebody has to step up, and for me that always translates to: Why wouldn't it be us, why wouldn't it be me, why wouldn't it be this moment?"
Watch the full session “The CHRO-CIO Alliance: What the New Partnership Looks Like."
Jeni Fitzpatrick is Chief People & Technology Officer at North Highland. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
