Data remains the deciding factor. Cloud and data fuel AI and organizational ability to anticipate and meet the fluctuating needs of consumers or branch into new industries. 

The Chief Information and Chief Technology Officer are now equally sought-after. Amrop compared its global assignment data over two 5-year periods over the past ten years (mainly large midcaps). The first period saw almost twice as many demands for CIOs as for CTOs. The roles are equally sought-after and account for 69% of Amrop’s global digital assignments. 

But within many organizations, the CIO and CTO roles are merging. As digitization transforms organizations and business models, the distinction between CIO and CTO is often blurring. Still, for most firms the role must remain the top C-suite position: Digital, Cyber-security, Data and Transformation Officers should report into it.  

Technology must remain a distinct function, not an add-on. While CIO’s must understand HR, operations, finance (and vice versa), being tech-conversant is not enough to fill these sophisticated shoes. Literacy means a Masters degree or professional education following considerable experience. 

As digital flows into the core of organizations, the CIO is at the strategic center. The role should move into the board. If a lean board, the CIO should report to the CEO or CFO. Business and IT strategy now form a double helix, and around half of boards are now exploring AI, as it pulls technology in its wake. 

Bigger branches need deep roots and wide support. Like the CHRO, the CIO needs business partners on the terrain. And whilst boards are becoming more supportive, some still prioritize short-term returns rather than the future of their investments.  

CIOs must master four domains: Strategy, Organization, Culture and Skills. Within the areas set out by Amrop’s Digital Competency Model©, inspirational and virtual leadership will become key levers for organizational change. Blending the two will take exceptional skills, as inspiring people at a distance is no easy task. 

This young domain still requires maturity. Candidates should be minimum in their late thirties and typically in their forties or fifties. Even if organizations are seeking an ‘embryonic’ CIO who will grow into a developing role, maturity is still a must. 

As ‘data’ becomes ‘information’, the CIO is rising.  

The position belongs on the board, or close to it, he says. What of smaller organizations, or those who want a lean board? “If it’s only a two-person board, some people must report to the CEO and some to the CFO.” Beyond the C-suite: “We are seeing on non-executive boards that a lot of digital board members came into the organization.” 

AI is a propellant: “I know from attending the Gartner Forum last year that around half of the boards of larger corporations have already discussed AI with the Chief Executive Officer. Half of CEOs have already experimented with ChatGPT or other tools.” 

Double helix: IT and business strategy are intertwined 

“You once designed a business strategy then an IT strategy,” says this Amrop Partner. “You don’t do that now. Digital is the business nowadays and you can’t divide the two.” Of all the C-suite domains, says an Amrop Managing Partner, technology and digitization have evolved the most. “They have always been one of the biggest cost centers, but they have moved to ‘mission-critical strategic unit’. 

Bigger branches need deep roots and wide support 

“A proper function has business partners,” says the leader of Amrop’s Digital Practice. “Just as you have the HR business partner, you have an IT business partner. So it’s a normal model, no different to any other function. Let’s not design strange new concepts around that.”  

The CIO must also be well-supported: “Any member of the management team, and particularly the CEO, need to be very conversant with these topics,” says an Amrop Managing Partner. “You still have lots of executive boards where the majority of people are not sufficiently technology-savvy and not good sparring partners for the CIO.” Indeed, research by Amrop’s Global Digital Practice found that only 30% of digital leaders (and equivalents) believe that their board generally demonstrates understanding and support.4 

Progress has been made, says Amrop’s Global Practice Leader and author of the report. But some firms still need to examine their priorities. “Especially if they’re only driven by profit and not looking at the future of an investment. It’s highly strategic and important that the board understands that.” 

As the CIO role matures, the links with lateral domains must strengthen  

“It’s becoming a more grown-up function where you really need to understand the different sub-domains to be a good leader. The same can be said of the CFO who needs to understand tax, investments, controlling, or the CHRO who needs to understand industrial relations, people, culture, and HR tech. “If there is a people system that allows you to track relevant employment data, churn and satisfaction, I’d expect the HR to understand and know about that system and its possibilities.” So, a C-suite member should be ‘literate’ about their own domain, and ‘conversational’ about the rest. 

Moreover: “IP creation means working with the Chief Legal Officer and here, when we talk about AI, ChatGPT is very dangerous. An R&D staff member could be inputting a recipe into ChatGPT to find out how it can be simplified and in doing so, enters one of the ingredients. Just as you don’t want USB sticks lying around, ChatGPT is comparable.  

“The COO is also very interesting when it comes to digitizing operations into more of a service and selling it to other companies.” 

Particularly for technical companies, private equity are scrutinizing the CIO/CEO relationship: “They examine how much [the CEO] knows about the technology. Is there a good CIO next to him or her, helping to really make the change?”