Who is cio

However, the U. There are significant outliers in certain industries and locations who push into seven figures, but this range is roughly what you can expect to earn as a CIO in the U. Most project that the CIO role will grow even more separate from the on-the-ground tech. The goal for a CIO should be advancing the business through innovation and finding the transformative tech that can help the company more easily reach its potential. As far as a specific technology that is likely to have the greatest impact for CIOs, artificial intelligence is significantly affecting organizations across virtually every industry.

AI allows organizations to free up their human workforce for the more important duties by automating simple or repetitive tasks. This is precisely what a CIO looks to do, and AI, if implemented properly, is the kind of innovation that can deliver that goal.

CIOs typically have a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, an MBA, and experience in project management, IT governance and risk management. Saige Driver contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

What Is a CIO? Sean Riley. A chief information officer is the executive in charge of information technology, including network monitoring and defense. CTO vs. CIO vs. Related Content Webinar. Sorry, No data match for your criteria. Please refine your filters to display data. Related Terms Digital Business. Digital Business Transformation. Digital Transformation. Industrial Iot Platforms. Operating Model. It's definitely not just about your tech cred anymore: The qualifications and traits that companies want range from communication skills to business acumen to empathy.

You'll also be expected to influence the larger organization. See our related story: Emotional intelligence test: 5 self-evaluation tools for leaders.

To keep progressing on the CIO career path, look for opportunities on cross-functional teams that will let you demonstrate these skills - and build business knowledge in areas such as supply chain, finance, or marketing. Rotational opportunities to work in other groups can also prove useful.

Work on your personal brand, including a LinkedIn page that tells your story , and seek out speaking opportunities at industry events. You can count on interviewers investigating your ability to speak to audiences ranging from customers to non-technical audiences. However, tech chops still matter, says Net Health CIO Jason James : "Beyond understanding that having a firm grasp on the business is just as important as the technology, aspiring IT leaders must be strong technologists before taking their first CIO job.

Too often, I see people in other C-Suite positions think that they can have a strong business leader with a weak technical background serve as CIO, and simply rely on other tech specialists in the company to fill the knowledge gap. James took his first effective CIO job back in at Servigistics, a provider of service lifecycle management software that was acquired by PTC.

He started as a network engineer and became vice president of global IT. John Marcante recommends that an aspiring CIO should practice thinking like a gardener, not a chess master. As he puts it: "Prepare yourself as a 'blended' executive with a passion for the business and technology.

It's important to have skills and experiences outside of IT. That said, you have to have a true understanding of technology and what it can enable in your business. Remember you are part of a team that includes senior executives and board members. Build relationships and never put yourself first. The order should be clients, crew, colleagues, community, and then you.

Stan McChrystal once said that the temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing," Marcante notes.

The leader acts as an 'eyes-on, hands-off' enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the organization operates. Another way to think about it is that gardeners don't produce fruit, plants do. Gardeners enable their growth. These colleagues will be your future hires, consultants, and vendors," she says. Your team and your network of connections are key to your success.

CIOs don't need to have an engineering or technology-related diploma, says Larry Bonfante, veteran CIO and founder of executive coaching and consulting practice CIO Bench Coach , but they do need an understanding of what's possible and how to leverage technology.

Melissa Swift , leader of Korn Ferry 's Digital Advisory for North America and Global Accounts, points out that businesses such as Cisco, GE, and Petco have appointed top IT leaders from finance, marketing, and supply chain backgrounds — while adding diversity to the ranks - with success. Consider this data point: 96 percent of technology hiring professionals said that over the past two years it has become more acceptable to hire technology candidates with alternative qualifications, according to a survey conducted by talent management software maker iCIMS.

One last point: Today's talent wars practically demand looking at candidates with non-technical degrees, recruiters say. In late and into , a growing number of companies started filling a new C-suite role: the chief transformation officer, as Michael R. Another U.

Does this spell trouble for the CIO? Not necessarily. Many times, pundits have predicted the fall of the CIO role — for example, as CMOs gained influence and budget, and then more recently with the rise of chief digital officers CDOs.

That fall never came to pass. Federal Government. In fact, I think hiring a dedicated digital leader is in line with the ongoing evolution of what a CIO should be doing. Creating this role is a great way to deepen business alignment and build better experiences for clients. Check out their tips for making the leap to CEO.

Swift makes the case that in order to increase that number, companies need to do more than take traditional measures to boost diversity. She recommends several concrete changes: Kill off linear succession, make the CIO role more of a stepping stone to CEO, make more non-technical leaders CIOs, and change the vision of leadership. It's time for the CIO role to get the same treatment — and as seemingly every company across industries declares itself a 'tech company,' shouldn't we have more CEOs who have been CIOs?

In turn, this means pulling more CIOs into the role from other functional or general management tracks — yielding a greater assortment of women leaders as candidates for the role. Break these 3 rules. Read also: How to develop the next generation of female digital leaders. Reflecting the CIO's expanding digital responsibilities, we have seen an increase in the number of CIOs who have dual titles.

For example, Jack Clare serves as chief information and strategy officer for Dunkin' Brands. Says Dan Roberts : "We know the future of work, for IT teams in particular, will involve artificial intelligence , machine learning , and robotic process automation. Every assessment of that future says our roles will become less focused on hard technology and more focused on interpreting data, communicating across teams, and collaborating to understand the challenges our technology should address.

AI, explained. Notes Bill Mayo , CIO, Broad Institute : "We can seize the opportunity offered by a world where agile, public cloud infrastructure, and SaaS solutions have taken so much off IT's plate, and pursue a new level of collaboration with our technologically savvy business partners. Mayo continues , "For example, we have worked with one major cloud partner to build a comprehensive training plan to allow scientists across the institute to enhance their expertise building scientific pipelines in the cloud.

CIOs who have shown early results with digital transformation efforts will continue to be heavily recruited. Indeed, CIOs who have shown early results with digital transformation efforts and the related change management skills will continue to be heavily recruited.