CIOs to take chief executive jobs

Prospects are good for IT chiefs - if they develop more business skills

CIOs will increasingly be considered for chief executive posts, but only if they develop skills that combine technical understanding with the ability develop IT and innovation in line with business strategies.

That was the message for over 80 attendees at the Economist's annual CIO and IT Directors' Summit in London on Wednesday (7 June), where speakers argued that the emergence of increasingly tech-savvy customers, and business leaders’ realisation that technology can provide a competitive differentiator, mean CIOs have more influence across businesses than ever before.

Ian McCaig, chief executive of Lastminute.com, said their increasingly central business role meant IT directors are gaining more responsibility and " more chance of getting fired". But it is also allowing them to obtain a greater understanding of their entire business - and as a result become viable candidates for chief executive positions.

"The line between business and technology roles are blurring," he said. " [Over the next few years] there is a far greater chance of getting CEOs from the CIO community then the CFO [chief finance officer] community."

However, Robin Johnson, IT vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Dell, advised that many CIOs would have to extend their skills to become strong applicants for leadership positions. He argued that the modern CIO role had evolved from a position where the main aim was to deliver system stability, cut costs, and "keep the eccentrics [in IT] away from the business", to one where they must also undertake innovative projects to support business goals.

"The role is no longer about just delivering what you are asked to do, it is [also] about shaping the future of the business," Johnson said. "That means a different skills set so you understand business goals and have the financial acumen needed to pick the right projects to work on."

Martin Curley, global director of IT innovation and research at Intel, said that many IT chiefs also had to modernise IT management practices that he regarded as "stuck in the Dark Ages". He argued that CIOs should run their IT departments based on business principles with a clear management framework and greater emphasis on metrics.

"I always ask CIOs what their aggregate and average ROI [return on investment] is and from 1,500 CIOs only two have been able to answer," Curley said. "The business runs off metrics so IT should as well."

Traditional management structures that see CIOs report to CFOs could also be hampering IT chiefs' career prospects, according to Johnson. "I see a lot of CIOs reporting to CFOs where the only agenda is cost-cutting," he said. "But if you report to the CEO it becomes much more about innovation."

James Caplin, an executive coach attending the conference, said IT directors also need to brush up their communication skills to cope with their increasingly business-oriented role. "If they want to get the budget to deliver the innovation that will make them stand out they really need to communication skills to help them justify why they need that budget," he said.