Many companies are currently working with AI - but often in the form of pilot projects that never leave the testing stage. Experiments are being run left and right, but without a common direction, governance, or integration with business goals. This means that AI ends up as isolated initiatives that do not elevate the organization as a whole.
It is rarely the technology that is the problem. The biggest barriers relate to organization, competencies, culture, and leadership prioritization. Companies invest heavily in AI, but forget to update structures, decision-making processes, and ways of collaborating. Without clear ownership, AI cannot evolve from a tool into a strategic engine.
AI must be moved from the engine room to the boardroom
AI does not just change how we work - it changes how companies should be led. When top management takes responsibility, something crucial happens: AI is linked to the decisions that shape the future. The most successful organizations today use AI as part of their strategic management, not as an isolated tech experiment.
Jesper sees this as a necessary development.
“AI should not be managed – it must be led. It is a discipline that should be on par with strategy, finance, and customers. The companies that manage to do this will define the market of the future.” -Jesper Nørding Pedersen
When AI receives leadership ownership, the organization gains a common direction. Innovation begins to happen across business, technology, and customer experience. And the investments start to create real value.
A wake-up call for Nordic and Northern European companies
Forte Pulse 2025 examines digital maturity in more than 450 companies in Denmark, Norway, and Germany. The picture is clear: AI takes up a lot of space in ambitions – but far less in business.
Companies want to work strategically with AI. But structures are lagging. Culture is lagging. Competencies have not been built up. And the organizational anchoring is too weak. Both internal and external transformation require something else: leadership, direction, and courage.
The winners of the future see AI as a leadership discipline
The coming year will be crucial. Companies are not only facing the implementation of AI - they are facing a transformation of their way of working and making decisions. AI is no longer a tool that resides in IT. It is a strategic driver that must be shaped and prioritized by those who set the direction for the business.
Without leadership ownership, AI will continue to exist as isolated initiatives. But when top management takes responsibility, AI can accelerate innovation, strengthen customer experiences, and create new business areas.
As Jesper puts it:
“The coming year will be defining. AI is not becoming less important - only more strategic. The question is not whether companies should work with AI, but who dares to own the agenda.”
The article was published in IT-Watch on Jan 23, 2026, and is written by Jan Horsager.
Read it here: https://itwatch.dk/ITNyt/ledelse/article18947310.ece
