Critical Skills to Win the Tech Talent Wars

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Published July 22, 2025 5:11 AM PDT

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By Cara Siera

The ebbing tides of today’s fast-moving economy have clustered competitively compensating roles in three strategic technology domains: artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and data science. CEOs and executive leadership must understand the skills required for these high-paying jobs in order to attract, identify, and utilize world-class talent.

Below, we’ll take a deep dive into each of these three fields. We’ll buzz past the buzzwords to highlight the specific skills your team members need, then talk about why they matter in the real world.

Artificial Intelligence Leaders

To drive your business forward, you’ll need team members who can do more than just use AI-powered tools. Look for AI leadership—a blend of technical prowess, cross-functional fluency, and strategic insight.

Specifically, consider assessing for the following skills:

  • Advanced model engineering, including deep learning and generative AI frameworks. You want a team that can build and train tools from the ground up or adapt available tools to specific needs.
  • Business-framing and communication skills; your top performers should be able to translate AI’s return on investment (ROI) into a narrative and present it to your board, for example.
  • Ethics and compliance to anticipate regulatory scrutiny and work within its boundaries.

A team that utilizes smart tech well will contribute to the overall efficiency of your business. Hiring the right professionals can ease tech transitions and create a positive culture around it.

Cybersecurity Experts

Your cybersecurity team needs to go beyond running malware detectors and putting up firewalls. They should be well-versed in the following:

  • Cyber-risk anticipation: Large corporations in tech, defense, and finance should specifically focus on nation-state threat modeling to prepare for cyber threats posed by foreign governments and state-sponsored actors.
  • Incident response leadership that goes beyond reactionism; leaders should be quick and willing to communicate with stakeholders concerning an incident.
  • Security and privacy integration, with special attention given to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence, and modernizing systems or automating processes through digital transformation plans.

Embedding these principles in your company culture proactively instills the concept of efficiency-first tech deployment and teaches the entire team to be their own gatekeepers.

Data Scientists

Insights from data science can drive company-wide transformation. Look for scientists with strengths in:

  • Feature engineering to improve the performance and accuracy of machine learning (ML) models.
  • Responsible AI and bias control, including transparency, accountability, and re-balancing datasets.
  • Storytelling, including converting dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs) into actionable executive insights.

Of course, CEOs are increasingly expected to have a command of data-led narratives themselves. The right team can help get you up to speed.

Why These Skills Matter from the C-Suite Perspective

Having a well-stacked team as described above may afford you a first-mover advantage. For example, they may identify vital business technologies before they become mainstream. When you adopt and pilot useful tech ahead of your competitors, growth is sure to follow.

AI automation that is fortified by cybersecurity and enhanced by data intelligence can also help you maintain efficiency at pace and an adequate ROI. Finally, talent scarcity in these fields is likely to remain an issue for years to come. When you cultivate and retain talent, it affords strategic leverage and a sustained competitive advantage.

A solid team of AI, cybersecurity, and data science experts will also help code comfort with uncertainty into your executive DNA. How so? Actions like regular cybersecurity tests and rapidly iterating AI pilots can be normalized, a vital mindset in the current ecosystem.

Maintaining the Advantage

As mentioned above, it’s not only important to find tech talent—you also have to cultivate and maintain it. You can do so in the following ways:

  • Upskill: As technology continues to evolve, you may find that this year’s darling no longer has the cutting-edge skills they need. Invest in continuing education and certifications. You can also grow your own talent by upskilling existing employees. Grow internal capacity by hybrid-skilling.
  • Measure: Track KPIs and ROIs, and use these metrics to guide and justify expansion.
  • Scale: Integrate AI, cybersecurity measures, and data-driven decision-making across core value chains.
  • Reward: Once you’ve invested in top talent, don’t let a bigger fish lure them away. Offer competitive benefits and salaries. Create clear paths for career growth that include leadership and impact.

Key Takeaways

Securing good tech talent in today’s ecosystem has been likened to a war; the tech talent war is one you can win with a little insight and forethought. Experts skilled in AI, cybersecurity, and data science will be valuable for decades to come. For leaders shaping tomorrow’s enterprise, success lies not only in identifying these skills but in embedding them across hiring formulas, development plans, and operational metrics.

Such talent is scarce, and that is not likely to change in the near future. For a competitive advantage, find, cultivate, and maintain such talent now. When done well, it marks the difference between leading the next wave—or being washed away by it.

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