New research finds 94% of executives say their roles are already evolving due to AI, yet only 9% of organizations substantially rethink a leadership role before filling it
CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2026 / ON Partners, the partner-led executive search firm specializing in board, C-suite, and senior executive leadership, today released new research on how AI is reshaping executive leadership faster than most organizations are prepared to respond.
The research report, The Widening Gap, finds that 94% of executives say their roles are already evolving due to AI. Yet when a leadership seat opens, only 9% of organizations substantially rethink the role before hiring into it. Nearly 3 in 10 replace with a like-for-like candidate. That gap between what organizations know is changing and how they are actually responding sits at the center of the research.
"When everything else is changing, organizations can find a safe harbor in defaulting to what they know," said Bryan Buck, Managing Partner at ON Partners. "It's the path of least resistance. But that's also where you start to fall behind."
Confidence in AI readiness is real but uneven
Senior leaders report strong personal confidence in navigating AI-driven change, but the data tells a more complicated story depending on where you sit in the organization. Three in four C-suite leaders (75%) say they feel very prepared personally for AI, compared with 42% of VP-level leaders. The same gap appears in organizational readiness, in how much formal upskilling support leaders have received, and in how significantly each group says AI is reshaping their day-to-day role.
The leaders setting enterprise direction are the most confident and the most supported. The leaders responsible for executing that direction feel neither. That is not a technology problem. It is an organizational one, and it sits precisely where succession risk lives. When the people running the organization and the people next in line are not calibrated to the same reality, leadership alignment stops being important and starts being the difference.
Leadership stability is more fragile than it looks
Despite high engagement, senior executives are not staying put. Four in five (81%) say they are open to new opportunities if the right role arises. Only 4% say they are intentionally avoiding a move because of market uncertainty.
These are not leaders quietly checking out. They are fully capable, actively valued in the market, and making deliberate assessments about whether their current situation is the best use of what they have to offer. The leaders most likely to leave are also the most likely to be recruited.
Succession planning remains too reactive
While 53% of executives say their boards are highly proactive about succession, 46% say it is not being proactively managed, meaning transitions often begin only after a seat goes empty.
Most respondents (77%) say replacing a senior leader takes at least three months. In a market where leadership expectations are shifting and four in five executives are open to the right move, that timeline carries real weight.
"An extended vacancy creates a credibility problem in the market," said Tara Flickinger, Partner at ON Partners. "The longer a role remains unfilled, the more candidates begin to question whether the challenge lies with the business, the leadership team, or the expectations around the role."
The organizations that navigate these pressures best are not waiting for a transition to force the conversation. The most common thing we hear after a search: "I wish we'd started this conversation earlier."
"The organizations that get ahead of this aren't waiting for a transition to happen," said Buck. "They're constantly pressure-testing their leadership against what the business is going to need next, not what it needed before. If you wait until a role opens, you're already behind."
Download ON Partners' research report, The Widening Gap
About ON Partners
ON Partners is a retained executive search firm specializing in board, C-suite, and senior leadership placements. The firm's partner-led model, deep sector expertise, and data-informed approach enable clients across private equity, venture, growth, and public markets to hire leaders who drive meaningful, long-term impact.
Michael Zema
Unshakable Marketing Group for ON Partners
ONPartners@Unshakablemarketinggroup.com
SOURCE: ON Partners
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/on-partners-research-finds-ai-is-changing-executive-roles-faster-1167749
