Avanade, the leading Microsoft solutions provider, today announced it has appointed Florin Rotar Chief AI Officer (CAIO). Formerly Avanade’s Chief Technology Officer, Florin will lead the global AI strategy and execution, helping clients accelerate their journey to become AI First, while keeping the utmost consideration for ethical standards, privacy, and social impact. He will also be responsible for driving Avanade’s own AI transformation capitalizing on the market opportunity estimated to be worth $135 billion*.

According to Avanade’s own Trendlines research, 85% of organizations anticipate AI driving revenue growth in the next 18-24 months, with up to 16% growth expected in global annual revenue. However, the unprecedented speed of AI development is leaving business leaders struggling to both understand how to harness its potential and to identify the skills and resources to deliver on AI’s promise. Through the new CAIO role, Avanade is once again bringing its leadership and deep expertise and experience on the Microsoft platform, to clients in a focused way.

"AI has become the new computing platform. It has the promise to reinvent entire functions, and perhaps even industries. It also demands us to rethink the relationship and engagement between people and technology, perhaps as fundamentally as during the Industrial Revolution.,” said Florin Rotar, Avanade Chief AI Officer. "I firmly believe that to be AI First is to be People First. We have an opportunity to truly empower people to realize their full potential and to become the best versions of themselves. To ask ourselves what can be created and how can technology and human ingenuity be empowered for every person in their organization.”

Commenting on Florin’s appointment, Avanade CEO, Pam Maynard, said, "Generative AI has opened a whole new world of possibilities for how we can use technology to do what matters and transform industries on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution - from healthcare and education to agriculture and the environment. With Florin’s leadership, I’m confident that Avanade will continue to lead the market, driving responsible innovation that will help our clients thrive in an AI-first world.”

A 20-year Avanade veteran, Florin has held several leadership positions across the business including Chief Innovation officer, Global Modern Workplace Lead and Global Digital Lead. He is recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as "Top 10 CTOs To Watch In 2023” and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. In 2019, he co-authored We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age, which explored digital ethics in the digital age. In June 2023, Avanade was named Microsoft Global Systems Integrator Partner of the Year for a record 18th time.

Aaron Reich, head of Emerging Technologies, will succeed Florin in the Chief Technology Officer role.

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Notes to Editors

*According to Gartner - https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/4007140