The Digital Executive
Creating innovative, resilient organizations in the age of AI and Digital
Release date: November 2024
A Guide for Tech and Non-tech Leaders
From The Cover
Digital transformation and AI are reshaping our organizations, along with the structure and responsibilities of leadership teams. These are uncharted waters and leaders need an ability to navigate a storm.
The Digital Executive clarifies the technologies driving this transformation and provides a practical guide for creating innovative and resilient organizations. It considers the ethical dilemmas of AI and the critical cybersecurity challenges inherent in our digital age.
With a people-centric approach, the book emphasizes the importance of keeping human beings at the centre of technology-driven transformations.
Praise for The Digital Executive
This book doesn't just prepare you to implement new technologies — it challenges you to rethink how those technologies can influence human organization structures and outcomes.
Michael Tobin OBE, Founder and Executive Chairman, Tobin Ventures
Chris Martlew masterfully unpacks the complex dynamics of technology-driven change. The Digital Executive provides a simple and pragmatic framework for leaders to reimagine their roles and embrace the challenges that AI and digital transformation bring.
Highly recommended for all who are navigating the complexities of modern technology. Chris leverages his vast experience as a world-class tech leader with an engaging and accessible writing style that makes this an inspiring read for leaders.
If you are looking for a navigation aid to help you steer through the tsunami of technologies disrupting our world, you won’t find a more useful resource.
Brian Bacon, Founder and Exec Chairman, Oxford Leadership Group
Crafted with a practitioner’s eye, Chris Martlew’s new book serves as a strategic guide for business leaders, addressing the essential role of technology in our contemporary digital age. Very readable and packed with jargon-busting clarifications, insights and wisdom.
Martin Ward, West Midlands Tech Commissioner
With a keen understanding of the intricate dance between technology and human behaviour, Chris Martlew masterfully dissects the complexities of AI and digital transformation. His insights resonate with a practical wisdom that transcends buzzwords, providing leaders with a clear path towards innovation and resilience.
This book is not just a guide; it's a manifesto for those ready to embrace the future with courage and agility. Martlew’s focus on the human element makes this an essential read for any leader committed to creating a vibrant, adaptable organization.
Dr. Leandro Herrero, Chief Organization Architect and CEO,
The Chalfont Project Ltd
The Digital Executive by Chris Martlew is a must-read for leaders ready to embrace the AI revolution while facing the challenges of digital transformation.
The book offers invaluable insights for executives across all industries. Engaging and insightful. Highly recommended.
Olav Pannenborg, CEO, Supply Chain Group
In an ever-changing world, this is a hitch-hikers guide for today’s digital leaders. Make sure to strap-in, it may be a bumpy ride ahead.
Nicolas Castellon, Director of European Services, Sygnia
As the CEO and founder of a company dedicated to delivering 24/7, fully resilient IT services, I found The Digital Executive to be a vital resource.
The book dives into the intricacies of building and maintaining robust digital infrastructures, a topic that resonates strongly with our commitment to ensuring always-on services. Chris Martlew’s exploration of cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI offers practical approaches for enhancing system resilience and operational efficiency. His insights into creating agile, fusion organizations are particularly valuable in our line of work, where uptime and reliability are non-negotiable.
For leaders in the IT infrastructure space, The Digital Executive provides an essential playbook for navigating today's digital landscape with confidence and foresight.
Frans Ter Borg, CEO & Founder, Quanza
As CIO of De Nederlandsche Bank, I’m deeply involved in the challenges of AI, digital transformation, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity. Chris Martlew's The Digital Executive is an invaluable guide that addresses these challenges with precision and clarity.
The book’s insights into AI and cloud computing provide a strategic framework that is particularly relevant to the banking sector, where data security and operational efficiency are paramount.
For any executive in banking, this book is not just a recommendation – it's a great read.
Arjen de Graaf, CIO, De Nederlandsche Bank (The Netherlands Central Bank)
Having enjoyed Chris Martlew's previous works, I found this book particularly impactful. It dives deeply into how AI and digital technologies are revolutionizing leadership and organizational strategies.
What sets this book apart is its practical approach to integrating these innovations into everyday leadership. I would highly recommend my clients to buy this book and I'm confident it will inspire and benefit them in their leadership responsibilities—or rather, I’d be excited to offer them a copy!
Bart Bossers, Commercial Director, INISI ICT
Following on from Changing the Mind of the Organization, Chris Martlew raises the bar again with The Digital Executive. This engaging read captures the essence of change in the world of digital transformation and AI.
Utilizing his deep experience, Chris Martlew breaks down complex topics such as AI, cloud technology, architecture and cybersecurity into understandable, actionable steps, providing the tools and strategies needed to successfully transform an organization. The Digital Executive deserves sanctuary on the bookshelves of all those ready to lead the digital revolution.
Padraig O’Riordain, CISO and Founder of Emerald Hill IT
The Digital Executive underscores the essential role of digital capabilities in modern organizations, highlighting the need for digital literacy at every level. As IT and operational technology converge, this book explores how AI and other innovations are driving business growth and revolutionizing operations.
It offers valuable insights into aligning leadership with digital transformation to secure a competitive advantage in the future. Thoroughly recommended!
Mark Jesse, Founder and Partner, Chiaro Group
Chris Martlew's people-centric perspective on the role of the digital executive is especially relevant in an era of rapid change and uncertainty about the future of work.
This book unpacks the underlying concepts of a contemporary techno-social architecture, with a particular focus on integrating emerging AI capabilities. In doing so, Chris recasts the digital executive beyond the individual, toward a ‘distributed persona’. One that every executive should adopt.
Ivan Sean, Global Advisor, AI & Emerging Technologies,
Alumnus, Institute for the Future
Organizations must continuously adapt and act in response to the rapidly changing world we live in. AI represents one of the most significant changes, often challenging for organizations to fully grasp. This book provides leaders with the foundational knowledge and insights to be better prepared for this new transformation.
Bob Voermans, Founder LoopingOne
Captivatingly written, The Digital Executive is a must-read for business leaders grappling with the fascinating advances in AI and all its implications. It offers invaluable insights into the technologies and processes that are shaping all of our futures today.
Jeroen Berkhout, Literary Author, De Arbeiderspers
The Digital Executive offers critical insights for today’s leaders, addressing the complex tech and organizational challenges they face. It underscores the urgent need to rethink strategies and adapt in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and digital transformation. Having spent most of my career as a business leader in cyber, risk & compliance, Chapter 10 (Cybersecurity) is more than just a resource—it articulates a fundamental piece of the puzzle.
Authored by someone who has “walked the talk”, this book will enlighten in a fresh, compelling, and thought-provoking way. An essential read!
Joseph Souren, Founder SIGMA Consulting
Leaders face the crucial task of reconfiguring their businesses across technological, organizational, and human dimensions to address the vast impact of the combined forces of data, digital, and AI. Waiting and watching or responding slowly are no longer viable options.
This book offers valuable insights for anyone preparing to lead their organization through the tectonic AI shift, where augmented intelligence will become the norm. An essential read for all executives.
Vikas K. Verma, CEO & President of Engineering Zimetrics
Chris Martlew's new book turns complex tech topics into an engaging read. It's like having a smart friend explain AI and digital transformation over coffee. Enjoyable, eye-opening, and essential for today's leaders.
Frits Steenmeijer, Associate Partner, Connective Payments
Excerpt from The Digital Executive
Looking back through human history we can be proud of our remarkable achievements – from the invention of the wheel to space travel, quantum mechanics, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. These things showcase humankind’s incredible creativity, ingenuity and relentless pursuit of progress.
Many new technologies present both opportunities and threats – AI falls unquestionably into both categories. Technology is about rapid change; just as we’re getting used to the last big thing, the next big thing comes crashing onto our consciousness. AI is already impacting much of how we live, work and play. AGI (Artificial General Intelligence or human-like intelligence) will be the greatest and most sudden evolution of intelligence on our planet since homo sapiens.
Change is a choice. In Darwinian and economic terms, firms must change now, change soon or die slowly.
Some choose slow death by default – by not deciding to embrace innovative technologies and new ways of working. Others struggle with transformation or fall at the first hurdle.
Many are still stuck in waterfall software development, with old technology, weak cybersecurity and desperately slow change cultures. Others succeed in grasping the opportunities that tech offers and are propelled into success, fame and fortune. And, one hopes, into make our world a better place along the way.
We don’t just want change; we want it to be successful, we want it to stick and we want it to prepare us for the next change. In digital transformation, the winners will be those who adopt bold, well-integrated digital strategies. The greatest rewards will go to the early adopters, with fast-followers who excel in operational efficiency also finding significant success[i]. Others may be too late.
It’s important to distinguish between digital transformation and artificial intelligence, as they can be conflated but represent two distinct concepts. Digital transformation refers to the wholesale integration of digital technologies into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how organizations operate and deliver value to customers.
AI, on the other hand, is a specific set of technologies that enable machines to learn from data and perform tasks that typically would require human intelligence. Where many books treat these topics separately, this book integrates them, reflecting how AI is a critical driver of digital transformation rather than an afterthought. By weaving AI into the broader narrative of digital transformation, the book aims to provide an inclusive guide for leaders to navigate the complexities of the digital age effectively and strategically
My first book in (in 2004[ii]) examined the characteristics of what I called an agile organization and an agile leader. The agile approach made sense and suggested a route to improving organizational life and business performance – not only in IT and software engineering but more broadly in the architecture of our organizations.
We use the word transformation to indicate a level of deep change required to engage with, and master, the challenges that digital technology brings. My second book (in 2015[iii]) explored the transformation required to meet the challenges of our time with confidence. It was about deep change, about changing the mind of an organization and building agile teams to support meaningful and lasting business transformation.
Fast forward…and agile with its younger sibling DevOps now form the dominant organizational paradigm not only for software development, but also for other business processes.
The Digital Executive builds on the concepts of business agility and deep change to explore an approach for understanding digital and AI transformation and for architecting organizations where IT – and AI – are completely embedded into the strategy and structure of the business.
How the book is structured
The book is structured into seven parts across twelve chapters. While it can be dipped into, I recommend reading it in sequence to follow the train of thought.
- Introduction. Opportunities, threats, Conway’s Law and fusion organizations.
- Technology. The forces that are driving and empowering this transformation – including AI, cloud, APIs, big data and the Internet of Things. Chapters 2-4.
- Organizational transformation. The changes in the senior leadership team, the digital executive and, more specifically, the changing roles of the CEO, CIO and CTO. Chapters 5-6.
- Software, Product & Architecture. The AI opportunity and how to apply agile and DevOps structures, models and architectures to create flexible and resilient organizations. Chapters 7-9.
- Cybersecurity, Risk & Compliance. Don’t hit the headlines: rethinking security for transformation and AI. Chapters 10.
- People. A recurring theme throughout the book but I wanted to conclude with this aspect of the changes ahead. It may be a bumpy ride. Chapter 11.
- Wrapping Up. Back to Conway’s Law. Where do we go from here? Chapter 12.
It’s hard to know what happens next, but one thing is certain: not much of the future will be a linear extrapolation of the past. So, we must determine our own paths through uncertainty and ambiguity and make new footprints in the sands of time.
[i] McKinsey, The Case for Digital Re-invention
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-case-for-digital-reinvention
[ii] Christopher Martlew, Leadership Recharged!, Troubador Publishing, 2004
[iii] Christopher Martlew, Changing the Mind of the Organization – Building Agile Teams, Troubador Publishing, 2015
