Jacob Thomas Executive | Market Insight Newsletter Q4 2025 | Technology Leadership & AI Strategy in Private Equity
Jacob Thomas Executive | Market Insight Newsletter
Q4 2025 | Technology Leadership & AI Strategy in Private Equity
As 2026 approaches, technology leadership is entering a new era—defined not just by transformation, but by interpretation. In Private Equity-backed environments technology executives are being asked to do more than deliver change. They must navigate volatility, manage risk, and lead with tenacity.
Structural Change, Not Incremental Shifts
According to Gartner’s 2026 CIO & Technology Executive Survey, 94% of global leaders—and 92% in Australia and New Zealand—expect material shifts in outcomes over the next 12 months. This isn’t about marginal gains. It’s about structural realignment. The question is no longer if change is coming, but how prepared leaders are to shape it.
ASX-listed organisations are already making decisive shifts to fund AI transformation:
Telstra is reshaping its workforce and infrastructure under its Connected Future 30 strategy, positioning AI as a core enabler of autonomous networks and leaner service delivery.
Woolworths renewed its Google Cloud partnership to scale AI-driven analytics and automation, with its Data Platform now central to merchandising and supply chain decisions.
Qantas is embedding AI across planning and operations—from predictive maintenance to network optimisation—while streamlining executive and workforce structures.
Commonwealth Bank, however, offers a cautionary tale. After introducing AI-powered voice bots and reducing call centre staffing, the bank reversed its decision when customer service faltered, and call volumes surged. The move highlighted the risk of underestimating operational realities in the rush to automate.
The lesson? AI transformation must be matched by human insight. When workforce and customer impact are overlooked, trust and momentum can quickly erode.
AI: From Innovation to Investment Narrative
AI has moved beyond experimentation. It is now embedded in operating models as a signal of scalability, efficiency, and investor readiness. In mid-market environments, AI capability is increasingly part of the capital raising narrative.
Yet the economics of AI remain complex. While 74% of CFOs believe AI saves time, only 5% say it saves money, and just 6% see direct revenue impact. The takeaway is clear: time savings alone won’t cut it. Technology leaders must push beyond efficiency to unlock sustainable value creation.
Matt Gurrie, Head of IT Infrastructure at Cleanaway Waste Management, offers a grounded perspective:
“AI is going to transform the way we do things for sure, but only now are we starting to see real examples that deliver tangible ROI. The evolution of AI has only just begun and the demand for real business outcomes is beginning to grow momentum. With many failures in the industry, the normal disciplines must apply—real tangible outcomes that deliver real ROI, executed with strong discipline is where people are going to win with AI.”
Silvio Girorgio, AI and Data Executive (ex Coles and Australia Post), reinforces this shift from experimentation to discipline:
“Mature organisations in Australia have adopted AI as part of their core business to lift customer engagement or team enablement. For some time, they have been measuring the customer / team impact and EBIT contribution of every use, every year. This keeps everyone focussed and reduces noise created by hype.”
This sentiment echoes a broader shift: AI success is no longer about early adoption—it’s about disciplined execution, commercial impact, and leadership that understands both the promise and the pitfalls.
Leadership Themes: Agility, Risk, Tenacity
Gartner’s survey highlights three traits that consistently drive stronger execution outcomes.
Agility refers to a leader’s ability to dynamically reprioritise resources and pivot budgets in response to changing conditions. While only 18% of technology leaders demonstrate this trait, those who do achieve a 1.24x improvement in execution.
Risk Management is increasingly tied to sourcing strategies, regulatory exposure, and cyber governance. Leaders who excel in this area—just 28% of the cohort—deliver a 1.51x uplift in execution, making it one of the most impactful capabilities in today’s environment.
Tenacity is about long-term focus, balancing cost with capability, and driving productivity with financial discipline. Roughly 33% of leaders exhibit this trait, and it correlates with a 1.25x improvement in execution.
Linda Craven, CIO of Custom Fleet, illustrates how leadership agility and alignment are evolving:
“The move towards AI-driven transformation demands an even stronger partnership between Technology and Business. We’ve focused on building AI literacy across our workforce to unlock innovative solutions to complex business challenges. IT’s role is to equip teams with the right tools and capabilities, while setting clear guardrails to ensure responsible use—enabling true collaboration in creating effective AI-powered outcomes.”
These traits are not abstract—they’re measurable, and they’re shaping real outcomes. In Australia and New Zealand, IT budget growth sits at just 1.4%, well below the 2.8% global average. Yet performance lags even further, with ANZ reporting a –0.2% business performance delta compared to +1.3% globally. The implication is clear: budget alone doesn’t drive success. Leadership does.
The CIO: From Operator to Strategic Navigator
Gartner’s 2026 data reveal a striking shift in CIO influence:
Ranked #1 in the C-suite for managing volatility
Ranked #2 in interpreting change, just behind CFOs
65% of internal-facing CIOs now seek external-facing roles
This evolution reflects a broader trend: the growing credibility and trust in technology executives across the C-suite—including CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, and AI leaders. Technology has firmly established itself as a strategic enabler of value creation—a sentiment that, historically, was not universally held. Today, there is no better time for technology leaders to maximise their remit and executive presence.
This shift creates exciting opportunities for technology executives to influence the enterprise agenda—from investor engagement to customer strategy and capital planning. But it also surfaces a new reality: not all incumbent leaders are equally equipped. As the remit expands, so too does the need for commercial fluency, strategic communication, and cross-functional leadership. The gap between operational excellence and enterprise influence is becoming more visible—and more consequential.
Nathan Brumby, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Domain—recently acquired by U.S.-based CoStar Group in a $3 billion transaction—offers a timely perspective:
“Cybersecurity, AI, and on-site versus cloud-based infrastructure are just some examples that are challenging CIOs and CTOs in today’s world. More significantly, it is assuming a far deeper level of understanding at a board and ELT level. In Australia particularly, that competency in many cases is just not present and will be very exposed over the next couple of years. The cause and effect will be CIOs and CTOs having to assume a greater responsibility to guide the business and the underlying transformations that will need to happen to remain competitive.”
In Private Equity-backed environments, this is especially critical. CIOs are increasingly involved in scenario modelling, exit readiness, and shaping the investment narrative. Their role is no longer confined to systems—it is central to strategy.
Cybersecurity and Sovereignty: Embedded in the PE Lifecycle
Cyber risk is now a valuation lever. CISOs are engaged from the earliest stages of due diligence, assessing data governance and operational exposure. Post-acquisition, robust cyber strategy enhances exit readiness.
A recent example underscores the stakes: this year, Qantas experienced a major data breach affecting 5.7 million customers, traced to an outsourced offshore call centre. The breach was triggered by a phishing link opened by offshore staff, exposing gaps in vendor oversight and internal controls. While the CRM platform itself was secure, the incident revealed how third-party access—when not rigorously governed—can compromise even well-resourced organisations. The result: regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage, and a potential class action.
Looking ahead, by 2030 at least 50% of countries are expected to implement digital sovereignty laws. These will reshape cross-border operations, cloud architecture, and compliance strategy. For PE firms, understanding sovereignty’s impact on scalability and exit timing is now a core diligence requirement.
AI Economics: Restructuring, Outsourcing, and Workforce Impact
To fund AI initiatives, organisations are reassessing cost structures—often through offshore outsourcing of non-core capabilities. But continuity and strategic alignment must remain intact.
This shift, however, introduces new risk vectors. Outsourcing and offshoring remain two of the most common root causes when cybersecurity frameworks are compromised—an issue explored further in the section on Cybersecurity and Sovereignty.
We are also seeing:
Redundancies in process-driven roles
A shift toward reskilling and redeployment
Workforce planning that reflects both technological advancement and human impact
Fiona Da Dilva, Technology Executive, reframes the economics of AI:
“AI efficiency can fund its own acceleration—delivering faster returns and freeing capacity to reinvest in growth and capability. The real opportunity isn't cost reduction, but creating businesses that are more adaptive, intelligent, and distinctly human.”
Idris Shamsi, CIO of RACV, adds:
“AI investment cases, in this ‘emerging’ stage at least will challenge us to rethink our traditional approach to ROI and building assets for the long term. In some cases we’ll need to take more of a ‘disposable’ tech approach. This is where the impact will be felt quickly, and that the fastest way to get there may involve accepting a level of tech debt / short shelf life that we wouldn’t previously consider.”
The Competitive Edge: Adoption vs. Relevance
AI will not replace people—but those who embrace it will outperform those who do not. The productivity gains are real, and early adopters are already pulling ahead.
Girorgio highlights the opportunity for PE firms:
“For PE Firms, AI creates an opportunity to accelerate growth potential, particularly with target businesses slow to deploy AI at scale in areas typically proven to yield good returns with the technology. Whilst there is a lot of talk about Generative AI right now — the future will see a shift from being digital-prime to AI-prime — there are still lots of Australian organisations that have not deployed more traditional forms that generate growth.”
John Granger, CIO at Healthscope, adds a healthcare perspective:
“Opportunities to adopt AI within private healthcare are abundant, but successful integration requires careful evaluation of each use case and a strong focus on output accuracy. Given the historic underinvestment in healthcare technology platforms, organisations must take a balanced, strategic approach to embedding AI within their broader operational and clinical frameworks.”
For PE firms and portfolio companies, the tension between tech investment and near-term targets is familiar. But when executed thoughtfully, enhancements in AI, cybersecurity, and infrastructure can materially lift exit valuations.
Analysts have noted that companies with strong growth and margin profiles—often enabled by tech investment—tend to attract higher valuations. In Australia, ASX-listed tech stocks are showing resilience, and strategic upgrades may enhance exit outcomes.
How Jacob Thomas Executive Supports Technology Leadership
At Jacob Thomas Executive, we partner with Private Equity firms, portfolio companies, and technology executives to navigate these evolving dynamics with clarity, discretion, and sector-specific insight. Whether advising on leadership strategy, AI capability, cybersecurity maturity, or executive presence, we remain committed to helping our clients shape outcomes—not just respond to them.
If any of the themes outlined above resonate with your current priorities—or if you're exploring leadership strategy in the context of transformation, investment readiness, or exit planning—we welcome the conversation.