DNA of The CIO

The DNA of the CIO
Opening t he door t o t he C-suit e

B Document title Addit ional t ext
Pet t er Sundberg
CIO , A potek H jrtat
Manish Choksi
CIO and Chief of Corporate Strategy, A sian Paints
Daniel Hart ert
CIO , Bayer Group, and Chairm an of the Executive
Board, Bayer Business Services
Philip Proost
CIO , Catlin
Bryan Glick
Editor-in-Chief, Com puterW eekly
Laurent Ferrari
Group CIO , Electricit de France (EDF)
Magnus Graf Lambsdorff
Partner, Egon Zehnder International
Roman Dudzik
CIO , Energa
Maureen G. Osborne
CIO , Ernst & Young
Christ ian Gosch
CIO , Erste Bank
Thomas Pirlein
CIO , Esprit
Adrien Gonckel
CIO , Givaudan Suisse
Edward Capaldi
CIO , Gulf N ew s
Anil Jaggia
CIO , H DFC Bank
Isobel Thomson
CIO , H einz
Vijay Set hi
VP and CIO , H ero M otoCorp
Volker Raupach
VP IT A utom otive Experience Europe, Johnson
Controls
Gerhard Bikar
CIO , M A H LE International
Kari Keskiivari
CIO , N este O il
Pet er Lenz
CIO , sterreichische Bundesbahnen-H olding
Marek Frackiewicz
CIO , Polski Koncern N aftow y O RLEN
Thomas Schot t
CIO , REH A U Group
Werner Boeing
CIO , Roche Diagnostics
Andrew Rashbass
CEO , The Econom ist Group
Ibukun Adebayo
Director of IT, Turning Point
Jrg Wahlers
CFO , Villeroy & Boch
O ur thanks go to the m ore than 300 CIO s, and 40 further C-suite m em bers and
executive experts, w ho participated in this study. In particular, w e w ould like to
thank those people w ho took part in a series of in-depth interview s in w hich
they shared their insights and personal experience of the role (listed
alphabetically by com pany nam e):
1
The DNA of the CIO provides fresh insight int o
what it is t o be a Chief Informat ion Ofcer (CIO)
t oday. The report is based on our survey of
301 senior IT professionals from Europe,
Nort h America, Asia, Lat in America, Aust ralia
and Sout h Africa. It also draws on in-dept h
int erviews wit h a furt her 25 CIOs from t hese
regions. A furt her 40 respondent s from across
t he rest of t he C-suit e were polled t o provide a
perspect ive on how t he CIO is perceived by t he
rest of t he execut ive management t eam. The
research and survey produced a breadt h of
insight and perspect ives which allowed us t o
explore and analyze t he dist inct ive qualit ies of
t his communit y of professionals.
The DNA of the CIO explores t he expect at ions
and aspirat ions of t hose in t he job and t he
skills and relat ionships t hat t hey need t o mast er
in order t o succeed. It is one of a series of
Ernst & Young t hought leadership programs t hat
seeks t o underst and t he support , skills and
capabilit ies required of C-level execut ives as
t heir roles evolve. Already available is t he DNA
of the CFO, dealing wit h t he charact er t rait s of
t odays senior nance professionals.
In t his report
Execut ive summary 3
Time t o make good t he broken promises 6
The barriers t o effect iveness 8
A changing skillset 12
The relat ionships for success 16
The CIOs role 22
The CIOs career: a fullling end-
dest inat ion but wit h scope for
development 26
A t oolkit for t he aspiring CIO 32
Final word: CIOs, seize t he init iat ive! 36
Demographics 38
2 The DNA of the CIO
Dear fellow CIOs,
Welcome t o The DNA of the CIO, an in-dept h Ernst & Young research init iat ive t hat cast s
light on what it t akes t o be a leading chief informat ion ofcer (CIO) t oday. This report
provides insight int o t he person behind t he t it le. It examines t he skills, experiences,
relat ionships and mindset t hat CIOs need in order t o succeed in t he role. I am proud t hat we
are able t o draw on t he views of hundreds of CIOs, spanning every major indust ry and many
regions, as well as many of t heir colleagues in t he rest of t he C-suit e.
Some of t he ndings make for challenging reading. It is quit e st art ling how few CIOs have t aken st eps t o
reinvent t hemselves wit hin t heir business. Nevert heless, t his research helps out line how CIOs can, and must ,
refresh some of t he outdat ed perspect ives t hat ot her execut ives st ill hold about t heir role. In t oo many
companies, for example, t he CIO cont inues t o be perceived as t he organizat ional wat chdog : ready t o jump
in and highlight t he risks of a new init iat ive, oft en wit hout realizing t he impact on t heir percept ion wit hin t he
business.
For t hose of us facing such challenges eit her willingly or due t o forced changes as t he market evolves t his
research provides a useful t oolkit . It considers which skills need t o be shored up, how t o improve our
communicat ion wit h t he rest of t he business, and what st eps are needed t o develop more meaningful
relat ionships out side of IT, and out side of t he business alt oget her.
Much of t his is direct ly relevant t o my role wit hin Ernst & Young, where IT helps t o manage a hugely complex
business model: 152,000 mainly remot e working employees are operat ing in a t hree-dimensional mat rix of
four service lines, four areas wit h 140 count ries, in nearly 12,000 Prot & Loss Unit s (P&Ls), serving 15
sect ors and more t han 220,000 account s and client s. It support s my underlying belief t hat IT can be a
powerful force for innovat ion and gives valuable t ips on how t o secure a mandat e for such change.
This survey, however, is only a st art ing point . Ernst & Young plans t o build on t his init iat ive by developing an
ongoing program t hat addresses t he wide-ranging t opics of int erest t o CIOs as t hey seek t o develop
t hemselves and t heir t eams. I t rust you will nd t his report as useful as I have.
Maureen Osborne, Global Chief Informat ion Ofcer at Ernst & Young
3
For many years, CIOs have been t alking about
becoming a t rue part ner t o t he business and t he
execut ive management t eam. But , as The DNA of t he
CIO highlight s, relat ively few have broken out of t heir
comfort zones t o act ually become one. The
encouraging news is t hat many CIOs nd t he remit
and responsibilit ies of t heir role hugely rewarding and
enjoyable. Nevert heless, many more will need t o t est
t he limit s of t heir comfort zones in order t o become a
relevant part ner t o t he business in t he years ahead.
Mot ivat ed t o make a difference
CIO s see signi cant potential to add value to the business and are
strongly m otivated to m ake a difference. M any are keen to change
the often w eak or lim ited perception of IT w ithin the business for
the better. They w ant to m ove aw ay from being seen as a m ere
support function, and tow ard a stronger role as an innovative and
transform ative part of the business. A t a high level, underlying
technological shifts, such as the m ove to the cloud and the ongoing
consum erization of IT, provide a com pelling opportunity to reshape
the im age of IT and the role of the CIO . A nd there is no doubting
their w illingness and m otivation to w ork hard on this: nearly 9 out
of 10 CIO s surveyed for this report see this as a key reason w hy
they have got to w here they are today.
1
1 W henever w e refer to term s such as strong, deep, m ajor or key, w e refer to those
respondents that chose 8, 9 or 10 on a scale from 1 to 10, w here 1 is low est and
10 is highest.
Executive summary
87%
of CIOs believe they
do a good job at
helping the business
to meet its challenges
17%
of CIOs have a position
in the executive
leadership team
7.7
out of 10 is the average
level of satisfaction with
the range and remit of the
CIO role
64%
of CIOs see their
role as an end-
destination in
itself
17%
of CIOs have
a position in
the executive
leadership team
Not yet at t he t op t able
Too few CIO s are currently regarded as true m em bers of the
executive m anagem ent team . This lim its their potential for change.
M any CIO s now adays appear to be C-level in title only, and this rank
is not necessarily re ected in how they are perceived in the
leadership team . Less than one in ve hold a seat at the top table,
for exam ple. A nd less than half say they are deeply involved in
strategic decision-m aking. Related to this is a perception that CIO s
have a higher regard for the value that they bring to the business
than that seen by their C-suite peers. For exam ple, w hile 60% of
CIO s strongly believe that they help enable fact-based decision-
m aking in relation to corporate strategy, just 35% of their C-suite
peers agree. But if CIO s are truly going to deliver on the potential
rem it of their role, and the potential of IT, they w ill need to w ork
harder to nally secure their position at the top table.
Outdat ed views of t he CIO persist
N early 4 in 10 CIO s cite overcom ing a lack of support from the
executive m anagem ent team as one of the biggest barriers they
face. In a w orrying num ber of businesses, the perception of IT still
appears to be shaped by its role as helpdesk.Indeed, w hat is
clear throughout this study is that the view s of the rest of the
leadership team often rem ain stuck in the past, w hen IT w as sim ply
a back-of ce function that operated the basem ent data center.
M ost leaders aim to keep any discussions w ith the CIO centered on
IT budgets, w ith few seeing this as a chance to engage in a w ider
discussion about the value of technology. Far few er also see the
need for leadership from the CIO as part of a w ider sense that the
C-suite prefers a CIO w ho is sim ply stable, consistent and doesnt
rock the boat m uch. CIO s acknow ledge that it w ill be dif cult to
change such perceptions, but doing so w ill be a prerequisite for
recasting the role of the CIO , and IT, w ithin the business.
A wide-ranging remit
Sixty-four percent of the CIO s interview ed enjoy the scope and
rem it of their role. ITs in uence today stretches into nearly every
facet of the business, from H R and nance right through to the
supply chain and product developm ent. N evertheless, for m any,
there is still m uch m ore opportunity to show in uence. A ll CIO s are
engaged in the execution aspects of the role, such as dealing w ith
cost m anagem ent and keeping the lights on and m any are
involved in enablem ent from proactively generating ideas
through to acting as an inform ation broker. H ow ever, the third
facet of the role developm ent is least often pursued by CIO s.
From delivering transform ation through to introducing business
m odel innovation, this can be the m ost rew arding part of the
job but is only open to those w ho truly consider the rest of the
C-suite as equal peers.
A fullling career in it self
CIO s clearly enjoy the depth of responsibilities of their role, m aking
this a desirable career choice for m ost. A bout tw o-thirds are
content to see their role as a nal career destination. M any derive
huge personal and professional satisfaction from the w ide-ranging
projects and initiatives w ith w hich they are involved. A nd w hile the
others are not dissatis ed, they harbor am bitions for other
executive roles w ithin the business. O ne in ten, for exam ple, have
an eye on the top CEO job. A nd am ong the m ajority that are happy
as a CIO , about half rem ain am bitious, hoping for a true invitation
to the top table. But far too m any lack a career developm ent
strategy that can support these aspirations. A bout one in three of
those polled for this study indicated that they w ere strongly in
need of advice on how best to develop their career. This is
especially true for those w ith a largely technology-oriented
background. For CIO s, w hether aspirational or not, the underlying
shifts in the technology sector w ill dem and that they start to
develop their career m ore system atically.
Com pared w ith m any other C-suite roles, CIO s have w ide-ranging
opportunities to in uence and effect change across the business.
But few have taken action as yet. This w ill need to change, not
least given the underlying shifts in the dynam ics of the technology
industry. The DN A of the CIO provides CIO s w ith a robust and
balanced toolkit on w hat to change, w ho to in uence and how to
do it. But it w ill be up to CIO s them selves to nd the courage to
reinvent them selves.
48%
of the C-suite think the
CIO does not get involved
in discussing business
performance and challenges
37%
of CIOs strongly
agree that they need
to improve their
communication skills
35%
of CIOs prioritize
internal politics
more now than they
used to
Communicat ion st ill a weakness
A lthough CIO s have acknow ledged for w ell over a decade the need
to develop their softer skills, not enough progress is being m ade.
W hen asked to identify skills that are crucial for their role, 81% of
CIO s cited leadership and 79% nam ed com m unication and
in uencing skills. Both scores w ere w ell ahead of IT know -how.
But despite this recognition, it is also clear that too m any CIO s
dont know w hat it takes to join the executive m anagem ent team .
O ne of the m ost im portant changes is still often forgotten: the
need to discuss technology issues in term s of the business value
they bring w hether costs saved, revenues gained, custom er
satisfaction achieved or sim ilar rather than in term s of uptim e,
gigahertz and terabytes. Too few CIO s bring strong nancial
literacy to their role. For instance, they need to understand how IT
spend affects the net present value of the business, and consider
costs in balance sheet term s versus pro t and loss term s. For too
long, CIO s have resisted efforts to im prove these skills. But they
m ust take action.
Relat ionships are key t o success
A m ore senior role is inevitably m ore political in nature, m aking the
need to w in friends and in uence people far m ore im portant. The
transition to the m odern CIO role requires m any incum bents to put
a far greater em phasis on relationship building and fostering better
links w ith a w ider range of stakeholders both w ithin and outside
the business. There is w ide agreem ent that developing these skills
is the num ber one thing that CIO s can do to bolster their chances
of prom otion, w ith nearly three-quarters considering it highly
im portant. N evertheless, few appear to relish the task. W hen asked
about key priorities for the years ahead, internal politics ranks low
for m ost respondents. M ore copies of Dale Carnegies classic w ork
2
on w inning friends and in uencing people w ill doubtless be needed
as CIO s w ork to secure the relationships they need.
2 How to win friends and inuence people, by Dale Carnegie, w as rst published in
1936 and has sold m ore than 15 m illion copies since then.
The characteristics of todays typical CIO
The average CIO is a 43-year-old male.
He has typically been in his |ob Ior hve years.
Seven years is considered t o be an
appropriat e t enure, alt hough t he rest of
t he management leans t oward eight years.
The most common level of educat ion is a
degree in IT (49%). Relat ively few hold a
Mast er of Business Administ rat ion (MBA)
degree (10%).
The majorit y of t heir career has been spent
in t he IT funct ion only.
As might be expect ed from anyone wit h a
C-level t it le, he is highly mot ivat ed, works
ext remely hard and delivers on t he (of t en
t oo low) expect at ions of t he leadership.
There is room for improvement when it
comes t o communicat ion and leadership
skills.
They have less than a oneinhve chance oI
having a seat at t he t op management t able in
t heir own company.
6
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
Time to make good the broken promises
The CIO has long been posit ioned as a senior
execut ive on t he cusp of becoming a t ruly st rat egic
part ner t o t he business. But as t his research warns,
t he realit y is t hat relat ively few CIOs have so far
managed t o reinvent t hemselves sufcient ly t o
act ually become one. Less t han one in ve of t he
CIOs polled for t his st udy have risen t o become a full
member of t heir companys execut ive management
t eam. And when asked about t he degree t o which
t hey part icipat e in st rat egic decision-making,
responses were lukewarm, wit h just 43%rat ing t his
as somet hing t hat t hey are highly engaged in.
Indeed, in their interactions w ith the organizations leadership,
todays CIO s are typically talking m ost often about IT budgets and
ITs role in business transform ations. They are far less likely to be
discussing the overall perform ance of the business, or shaping the
key decisions that in uence it. Even w hen it com es to providing the
data needed for strategic decisions arguably the central prem ise
for the inform ationpart of their title m any CIO s are reluctant in
their reply. A notable m inority (14%) even say that this is sim ply
not som ething they are called upon to provide. Respondents
originating from Eastern Europe especially lack this input. Still,
CIO speers w ithin the rest of the C-suite broadly agree, typically
seeing even m ore lim ited scope for CIO engagem ent.
This over-arching picture suggests that little has changed since the
late 1990s, w hen the role of the CIO shot to greater prom inence. A
1999 M assachusetts Institute of Technology (M IT) report noted the
rising potential for CIO s to becom e a m ore pow erful m em ber of the
executive m anagem ent team .
3
But it also highlighted several issues
preventing this, including a lack of credibility w ithin the executive
team and a troubled relationship w ith the CEO . Fast forw ard to
2012 and such discussions still persist. A recent study by CIO
m agazine noted that, w hile the strategic in uence of the CIO has
increased, less than one in four w as considered as truly engaged in
developing strategy. The ndings from our research re ect a
sim ilar reality.
4

3 The evolving role of the CIO, Jeanne W . Ross and David F. Feeny, M IT Sloan
School of M anagem ent, A ugust 1999.
4 2012 State of the CIO Survey, CIO M agazine, January 2012.
Chart 1: extent to which CIOs actively engage with the
executive management board on key issues
Little engagem ent
(13)
Strong engagem ent
(810)
52%
14%
64% 13%
43% 23%
67% 11%
36% 26%
Discussing IT budget ar y
issues and infrast ruct ure
management
Discussing IT' s role in
business t ransformat ion
Providing fact s as basis for
st rat egic decisions
Par t icipat ing in st rat egic
decision-making
Discussing business
per formance and challenges
(O n a scale from 1 = does not apply to 10 = fully applies)
S
t
r
a
t
e
g
i
c

e
n
g
a
g
e
m
e
n
t
In short, despite nearly tw o decades of debate about the need for a
truly strategic CIO role to em erge, this rem ains a w ork in progress.
The central role that technology has played in nearly every
industry and sector of business since then em phasizes just how big
an opportunity CIO s have already m issed. To help them steer the
business, CEO s are in clear need of co-driversw ho com bine
technology expertise w ith business skills. Executive recruiters
readily agree, but such candidates are notable by their rarity.
To nd out w hy, this research draw s on the experiences of m any
individuals w ith the relevant experience on both sides of the fence.
The clear m essage from m any CIO s old and young, in m ature and
rapid-grow th m arkets and spanning a range of industries is that
the status quo w ill need to change. In order to stay relevant in a
rapidly evolving technological landscape, CIO s w ill need to break
out of their com fort zones w ithin the data center. Those w ho dont,
w ill run the risk of being further relegated dow n the corporate
hierarchy, or sidelined altogether.
A brief hist ory of change
To get a sense of w hy this m ight be, requires a step back, to gain a
w ider perspective of the transitions under w ay w ithin the IT sector.
The role of w hat is now know n as the CIO w as born during the 1960s
and 1970s, but it w as only during the 1980s and 1990s that
businesses started to digitize m any of their processes. They began to
dem and that the CIO develop a greater understanding of these
CIO s need to stop ignoring the
inevitable and start changing before
they are forced to.
processes. Along w ith this, a stronger focus on cost control m eant
CIO s often reported to the CFO. Since then, the internet era has
taken hold. Com panies of all types and sizes have gone online to
share applications and data across the organization. And w hile m uch
of this rem ains hosted on servers w ithin the corporate w alls, a new
era is rapidly em erging. Com panies are m aking a shift aw ay from
creating their com puting resource in-house, tow ard the unassailable
logic of treating this as a utility resource instead.
This isnt m erely a shift in com puting architecture; it is changing how
com panies use IT. H aving previously digitized existing processes,
m any are now w holly autom ating processes, or sim ply rem oving
them altogether. W e are on the threshold of a m ajor change. A new
set of technologies, such as various cloud solutions are going to be so
com pelling, pervasive and cost changing that CIO s w ill increasingly
stop buying and building their ow n capital infrastructure for IT,
argues Dave Ryerkerk, Global IT Advisory Leader at Ernst & Young.
Volker Raupach, VP IT Autom otive Experience Europe of Johnson
Controls, a m ajor autom otive supplier, says that this in turn is
com m oditizing m any aspects of IT, steering the role of the CIO tow ard
m ore of an inform ation and process m anager. Paolo Cavosi, EM EIA IT
Advisory Leader at Ernst & Young, says this com m oditization process
has been going on for a long tim e, but continues to shift into new
areas of IT: Take an IT service like helpdesk, for exam ple, w hich used
to be handled w ithin IT, but is now nearly alw ays handled externally.
The sam e kind of process is happening across other aspects of IT,
such as netw ork m anagem ent, storage, virtualization and so on. All
this im plies a new set of trends, w ith new skillset dem ands on the
CIO.
From a different perspective, a far larger base of users are now adept
at using consum er technology, w hich in turn is radically changing
their expectations of corporate IT. Its no longer the case that, just by
your position as CIO, you constitute the m onopoly of know ledge on IT.
You now have to provide the added value,explains Christian Gosch,
CIO of Erste Bank, a m ajor CEE retail and corporate banking group.
M any CIO s describe this consum erization of IT as an in ection point:
a transition w here the rest of the business starts to feel able to
im plem ent technical solutions, w ithout the CIO. But few technology
leaders have looked far enough ahead to see the real long-term
transition happening. To be successful,argues Ryerkerk, they w ill
need to be som ething of a visionary, to really understand how this is
going to change operating and process m odels.
Time t o wake up
These trends have deep im plications for todays CIO s, including the
risk of being sidelined if they fail to change. I think a lot of CIO s
m ight really be struggling to keep up,argues David N ichols,
A m ericas IT A dvisory Leader at Ernst & Young. In his view, the
CIO s that are going to survive are going to be the ones w ho are
sitting at the table, helping to develop the strategy.
A ll this requires CIO s to stop ignoring the inevitable and start
changing before they are forced to. A t a high level, they w ill need
to pay less attention to the underlying technologies they love, w hile
focusing m ore on developing their abilities as leaders, m anagers
and in uencers. A nd, w hile few feel like natural netw orkers, they
w ill have to recognize that developing personal contacts is a crucial
facet of the position theyre in. This w ont be easy. Few CIO s are
autom atically entrusted w ith the executive m anagem ent team s
backing and support. They w ill have to ght for it.

What the typical C-suite expects of the CIO
In interviews with a range of executives, a fairly consistent
view of what the executive management team expects from
the CIO emerges. They want:
The operational basics: running reliable, cost-efcient IT
systems
Tight security: ensuring t hat IT risks and security are kept
carefully under cont rol
Technology consultancy: providing an informed, business-
cent ric view of how IT can support and enhance t he business,
bot h in t he short and long term
Change leadership: being an effect ive part ner in leading
change management project s
Flexibility: being able to t in wit h t he shift ing needs and
demands of t he business
Dont rock the boat: nding t he courage to challenge t he
execut ive teams expect at ions. One of t he implicit messages
t hat emerges from t his research is t hat t he execut ive team
often holds lit t le expect at ion of t he CIO. This is a risk, bot h for
t he CIOs role and for t he business.
8
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
Any CIO seeking t o reshape t heir presence wit hin t he
business will have several major hurdles t o overcome.
Topping t he list is a lack of support from t he
execut ive management t eam. Nearly 4 in 10 (38%)
respondent s regard t his as a major issue. This is
part icularly t rue wit hin larger companies wit h
revenues of over US$1b, where nearly half t he CIOs
(46%) complain of t his, compared wit h one in t hree
(34%) of t hose in smaller rms. This is a fairly
damning indict ment , which underlines t he low st at us
of t he CIO in far t oo many businesses today, given
t hat t hey are meant t o be a part of t his t eam in
t it le, if not in pract ice.
Chart 2: barriers to effectiveness for CIO role
C-suite CIO s
38%
35%
Lack of suppor t from execut ives
32%
5%
Budget ar y rest raint s
23%
18%
Unclarit y on corporat e st rat egy
and organizat ion
17%
20%
Personal rest raint s
(e.g., soIt skills and hnancial mindset)
13%
3%
Lack of headcount
12%
13%
Lack of knowledge and experience in t eam
9%
10%
Ot her (e.g., t echnological change,
legal issues)
23%
40%
Don' t know
(O pen questions w ith m ultiple answ ers)

W hy is this? In certain industries, of course, IT is m ore naturally a
back-of ce or support-oriented function. But in m any others,
leadership team s often fail to grasp w hat IT could m ean for the
business and are often afraid to even ask. H istorically, they dont
get IT and are terri ed of having som eone w ho is going to blink at
them in binary during m eetings. A s a result m any tend to rely on
the CFO to w orry about IT issues.
For CIO s trying to in uence the business, this is a problem . M any of
those interview ed for this study noted the need to be fully
represented at board level, in order to be able to properly
com m unicate w hat IT can do. You need to get access to the
decision-m akers in the com pany, at their level, and becom e their
trusted advisor,argues Edw ard Capaldi, CIO of Gulf N ew s, a m edia
com pany in the U nited A rab Em irates.
St ill scrapping for money
This lack of boardroom access feeds a second barrier: budgetary
restraints. A bout one in three CIO s selected this as a m ajor issue.
M any businesses still regard IT as a cost center, or a function that
can help disconnect the grow th of a businesstop-line revenue w ith
its overall costs. But for CIO s trying to help transform the business,
funding lim itations can be a suffocating constraint. H ere, though,
there is a clear disconnect in view s betw een them and their C-suite
peers. Just 5% of other C-suite executives regard budget restraints
as a barrier to the CIO s effectiveness, a sharp difference from the
perception of CIO s.
This frustration show s through elsew here, too. Thirty-six percent of
CIO s strongly agree that, w hile the C-suite dem ands an
entrepreneurial CIO , it restricts the CIO s ability to operate
autonom ously. N early one in four (23%) C-suite candidates agree.
Jrg W ahlers, the CFO of Villeroy & Boch, a crockery and tablew are
m anufacturer, acknow ledges that the CIO as an individual needs to
be very strong in selling all the ideas and strategies to the key
stakeholders.
The barriers to effectivenesss
If youre just the guy w ho can m ake
the BlackBerry w ork, w hy w ould they
discuss strategy w ith you?

Volker Raupach, VP IT A utom otive Experience Europe,
Johnson Controls
Overcoming t he percept ion gap
CIO s need to overcom e an often poor historical perception of their
role. The past is no help here, given the checkered history of
high-pro le IT-led cost overruns and project failures. Concerns over
this still linger in the boardroom . To give one exam ple, CIO s
consistently rate them selves m ore highly than their C-suite peers
do, in term s of w here they add value to the business.
Furtherm ore, this perception gap doesnt appear to be shifting.
Just under half (48%) of the C-suite executives think the standing
of CIO s has im proved in recent years. Kari Keskiivari, CIO of N este
O il, a Finnish oil re ning and m arketing com pany, says a
perception gapexists outside of the IT function. Theres still an
assum ption from the business side that w e sim ply deal w ith IT
technology issues.
This is noticeable across a range of issues, from product innovation
through to helping deliver on the operational agility of the
com pany. But perhaps the starkest exam ple is the degree to w hich
CIO s help enable fact-based decision-m aking w hen setting
corporate strategy. Sixty percent think they add strong value here,
but just 35% of their C-suite peers agree. This w as the m ost striking
disconnect, but the perception of the C-suite consistently lags
behind that of the CIO . I think the contribution is often
undervalued,adm its Jrg W ahlers of Villeroy & Boch.
But CIO s are also guilty of focusing the m ajority of their attention
on speci c areas, such as running an agile, low -risk IT operation
w ithin a clear budget. This is expected of them and is an im portant
function. But it affords little opportunity to change perceptions of
their role w ithin the rest of the business. If youre just the guy w ho
can m ake the BlackBerry w ork, w hy w ould they discuss strategy
w ith you?asks Johnson ControlsVolker Raupach.
C-suite friend or foe?
How does the C-suite view the CIO today? Our survey of
other executive level stakeholders reveals some surprisingly
outdated opinions, which highlight the extent of the
challenge CIOs face in changing their role in the business.
These are:
Keep them in the back ofce. Alt hough building
relat ionships st ands out as one of t he key t asks for t he
modern CIO, t heir C-suite peers dont yet fully appreciate
t his. Views are similar about t he core CEO, CFO and COO
links, but t hen fade away quickly. Theyre even less keen for
CIOs to st art t alking to t he media.
J ust talk about budgets. In terms of engagement wit h t he
execut ive team, t he C-suite sees t his as a chance to t ry to
push down t he CIOs budget , wit h few seeing it as a means
of having a wider value discussion.
Dont change them too often. The C-suite not only t hinks
t hat CIOs have lit t le ambit ion, but t hat t heyre happy to
st ick around for t he long term, at t heir beck and call. The
majority t hink an appropriate tenure for a CIO is at least a
decade.
Stay in the IT vacuum. One of t he outcomes of t his st udy is
t he need for t he CIO to develop t heir skills out side of t he IT
funct ion. But most of t he C-suite seems happy to let t he CIO
develop solely from wit hin t he dept hs of t he dat a center.
Little need for leadership. While it s clear t hat CIOs need to
nd new leadership and communicat ion skills t hat t heyve
largely failed to develop over t he past decade, t he C-suite is
just looking for someone who can discuss t heir topics in a
meaningful way. Theres lit t le desire for a t rue leader.
Still, the CIO is seen as a pretty solid chap. The C-suite
sees t he CIO as a dependable guy. It s not necessarily t hat
t hey dont t rust him, but more t hat t hey simply dont expect
much of him.
Chart 3: areas where CIOs add value to a company
C-suite CIO s
81%
73%
Account for IT issues and
t he relat ed cost s
68%
58%
Cont ribut e t o operat ional agilit y
of t he business
60%
35%
Enable fact -based decision-making
in t erms of corporat e st rat egy
60%
50%
Deliver signihcant costeIhciencies
59%
53%
Minimize possible risks
45%
33%
Add considerable value t o t he overall
business growt h t hrough product innovat ion
(Percentage of respondents w ho have chosen 8, 9 or 10 on a scale
from 1 = do not add value at all to 10 = proactively add considerable value)
O ne of the challenges that m any CIO s face is that, w hen IT runs
sm oothly, this is considered to be the status quo, w hereas any dips
from that perform ance are an im m ediate negative. This leaves little
in the w ay for a positive upside. If your IT system s are ne in the
m orning then this is just okay, because its w hat users are
expecting. But anything that deviates from that is terrible. So its a
negative scale that effectively goes from really, really bad to just
okay,says Benoit Laclau, Partner w ithin Ernst & Youngs IT
A dvisory practice in the U K and form er CIO .
This is not to suggest that business considers IT a failure. In m any
com panies, the IT operation increasingly provides a slick, trouble-
free service to the business. But higher-order issues relating to
the role of the CIO in providing business insights or delivering
innovation are seen as w eaker, both by CIO s and their peers. This
extends to other areas, such as contributing to business strategy
and bolstering m arketing and sales.
O n the surface of it, this perceived lack of value is surprising. Few
people dispute that technology has m ade a signi cant im pact and
contributes substantial business value. A sim ple exam ple m ight
com e from expanding custom er sales channels from m aking it
easier for passengers to book and buy a seat on an airline, through
to ordering groceries and goods online, or even stream lining
paym ents w ithin a store. But in m any com panies, this recognition
does not appear to lter through.
Various answ ers explain w hy this m ight be. Topping the list is w hat
can be dubbed helpdesk syndrom ew here the CIO is still
categorized by the rest of the leadership team as the rst point of
contact for IT support. Yes, this is a core com ponent of w hat IT
typically provides, but part of w hat separates true CIO s from m ere
IT m anagers is their ability to delegate operational concerns
effectively, w hile dedicating their tim e to giving strategic advice
and input to the business.
Vijay Sethi, CIO of H ero M otoCorp, a m ajor global m otorcycle
m anufacturer, says m any IT leaders continue to perpetuate this
stereotype. There are tw o types of CIO s: a genuine CIO and one
w ho is m ore IT m anager than strategic thinker, but has been given
the title of CIO or H ead of IT. This second type is typically m ore
com fortable in a data center or IT environm ent. Sadly, a large
num ber are still like that, w hich is w hy theyre not a true m em ber
of the leadership team .
Chart 4: extent to which CIOs help the business overcome its
challenges
1%
0%
33%
40%
66%
60%
CIOs
C-suit e
Little (13) M oderately (47) Strongly (810)
(O n a scale from 1 = not at all to 10 = absolutely)
New measures of success needed
O ne of the im plications of a changing role is that new m easures
and m etrics w ill em erge to de ne it. But a sense of uncertainty
prevails around w hat these m ight be. There is broad agreem ent
that the traditional m easures of IT perform ance such as system
availability and uptim e are sw iftly declining in im portance and w ill
continue doing so. A drien Gonckel, CIO of Givaudan, a Sw iss-
headquartered fragrance and avor m anufacturer, argues that this
kind of era is over.
Such view s are spreading. A lthough 61% of respondents say this is
one of the top three issues they are m easured on today, just 46%
think it w ill rem ain relevant in future. But view s vary w idely on
w hat w ill replace this. M ost sim ply dont know. M any com panies
dont have a proper w ay to evaluate todays new er, m ore evolved
CIO ,says Ernst & Youngs David N ichols.
Chart 5: key measures for CIOs (current and future)
Today:
CIO s and C-suite
In future:
CIO s and C-suite
32%
24%
Don' t know
10%
7%
St rat egical mindset
10%
10%
Increasing corporate eIhciency
15%
14%
Cont ribut ing t o business t ransformat ion
23%
28%
Keeping t he budget and increasing
the eIhciency
27%
29%
Leadership skills and f ur t her sof t skills
46%
61%
IT perIormance and agility
(O pen question w ith m ultiple answ ers)
A t Givaudan, any discussion about m etrics has fundam entally
changed. Today, the evaluation focuses on w hat insights about the
business the CIO can deliver, such as w hy custom ers bought a
certain brand of perfum e or sham poo. This observation gets to the
heart of one of the transitions under w ay in the role of the CIO ,
tow ard that of being an inform ation broker to the business.
But, in m any com panies, the CIO and the leadership team have yet
to start shifting their thinking. W hen m easuring CIO s, m any rm s
basically just say, I think w ere spending too m uch on technology,
so therefore are you reducing costs?says M ichel Savoie, EM EIA IT
Transform ation Leader w ithin Ernst & Youngs IT A dvisory practice.
Its at its m ost basic level, w here executives in the m anagem ent
com m ittee arent even asking to m easure business outcom es.
The billion-dollar business CIO
How does the role of CIO change in the worlds largest
companies, those with revenues of at least US$1b? Our
survey highlighted some subtle, but important, distinctions:
CIOs in large rms typically have a greater recognit ion of
t he need for st ronger front-ofce relat ionships. They also
see more clearly how such relat ionships can boost t heir
career.
In terms of barriers, t hey are far more likely to ag up a lack
of C-suite support , while t heir small business peers typically
point to budget rest raint s.
CIOs at bigger businesses are more aware of t he need to
gain exposure to ot her part s of t he business, to
communicate business value and to deliver on major
t ransformat ion programs. They are also more likely to see
t he value of having experience in anot her business.
They are, unsurprisingly, usually more ambit ious. As such,
t hey are more at t uned to t he need for leadership in t heir
role, while smaller company CIOs st ill put more emphasis on
t heir technology know-how.
CIOs at large rms are far more likely to recognize t he value
of a business degree in broadening t heir skills.
12
A changing skillset
In t he past , it used t o be enough t o be just t he
t echie guy, says Villeroy & Boch CFO Jrg Wahlers.
Today, you need t o be a good business consult ant t o
t he CEO, t he COO and even t he CFO, he says. This
view get s t o t he heart of t he change in skillset t hat
CIOs are nding: balancing t heir t echnology
expert ise wit h soft er skills. Get t ing t his right is an
int rinsic part of being t ruly regarded as part of t he
C-suit e: When youre at t he C-level, it s very lit t le t o
do wit h knowledge of a given discipline; it s all about
being a leader, argues Gulf News Edward Capaldi.
This is not a new insight for CIO s. The dem and for such skills has
long been recognized. But w hat this research uncovers is that few
have yet developed the necessary skills. M any CIO s directly
acknow ledge that this is the case. W hen asked to select w here
personal im provem ents need to be prioritized, the attributes
com m unicating and in uencing skills (42%) top the list, follow ed by
leadership skills (37%). H ow ever, a dif cult truth is that CIO s w ith a
m ore business-oriented background tend to nd such skills easier
to grasp than do their m ore technical peers. This show cases one of
the key skills dilem m as facing the CIO today: the balance betw een
technological prow ess and m astery of softer skills.
O n the one hand, CIO s w ithout a technology background adm it to
the challenge of having to assess and evaluate technology issues
that are often com plex. I have seen CIO s w ith a nance
background w ho have never been in a data center, but they then
need to give an evaluation on w hat cloud can do for the business.
H ere it gets tricky,w arns Peter Lenz, CIO of BB, the A ustrian
federal railw ay operator.
Thom as Schott, the CIO of REH A U Group, a specialist global
polym er com pany, agrees. W e have m any people in our com pany
w ho have a good understanding of the business, but have no idea
w hat it m eans to establish an IT process that w orks stably in 60
countries and that is integrated w ith all other IT system s,he says.
There is also the related challenge of securing the respect of the
team w ithin the IT function, w hich has long been used to evaluate
CIO s on the basis of their technical credentials.
But on the other hand, there is a general agreem ent that CIO s w ill
never m aster all the technical issues. So it is a clear priority for
them to develop a strong team w ith the necessary technical
com petencies. Ernst & Youngs Paolo Cavosi likens the CIO s role to
that of an orchestra conductor, coordinating a team of varying
specialists. The CIO doesnt need to be able to play all of the
individual instrum ents, but m ust be capable of leading them . They
need to create the right team that can m aster all of the individual
com ponents required, especially w ithin larger com panies,he says.
A nd as for the challenge of non-technical CIO s trying to pick up the
IT reins w ithin an organization, he w arns that such com panies are
often taking a conscious decision to try to re-engineer the IT
function. If the CEO of a large com pany appoints a business CIO
to run IT, its usually because he or she w ants to m ake a m ajor
change in the m indset of that function.
Taking t he lead
Regardless of the depth of a CIO s technical skills, there is
w idespread agreem ent am ong those polled for this study that IT
know -how is largely secondary to other m anagem ent attributes.
Both CIO s and C-suite executives ranked a range of soft skills
leadership, particularly com m unication and in uencing, and also
change m anagem ent, and analytical and organizational skills as
the prim ary attributes needed for success. These w ere all ahead of
technology know ledge.
A s a business relies m ore and m ore on IT, CIO s need to be able to
stand up and ght for their beliefs about the direction that the
business needs to take. A t lectricit de France (EDF), for exam ple,
Group CIO Laurent Ferrari is responsible for selling the value of the
com panys 2b annual IT budget to the com panys board and
executive m anagem ent com m ittee, m any of w hom w ould prefer to
see that gure shrink. They need to understand w hat IT m eans for
their business, including w hat the m ain priorities are and w hat IT is
about. But they have little tim e to hear your argum ents,he says.
For CIO s w ho fail to lead, such discussions quickly becom e focused
on ITs budgets, rather than its contribution.
Daniel H artert, CIO of the U S$36b Bayer Group and Chairm an of
the Executive Board of Bayer Business Services, argues that the
baseline com petencies good data, strong global netw orks, and so
on are just a starting point. Yes, you need to have these, but
they are m ostly invisible to the business. The w hole perception of
the perform ance of the IT organization is linked to w hat the
perception of the CIO is w ithin top m anagem ent,he says.
Chart 6: key attributes for CIO role
Im portance N eed for im provem ent
29%
48%
Deeper insight int o t he indust r y or key
geographical market s for your business
31%
51%
Financial management skills
64%
Knowledge on design and execut ion
of business st rat egy
40%
64%
Technological skills and know-how on IT t rends
35%
35%
74%
Project and change management skills
32%
77%
Analyt ical approach and organizat ional skills
42%
79%
Communication and inhuencing skills
37%
81%
Leadership skills
from 1 = not needed at all to 10 = absolutely needed)
This is an especially im portant transition for CIO s w hove m oved up
from the role of IT m anager. A s a CIO , you have to align your
priorities to business priorities. O nce the letter Cis part of your
designation, you are part of m anagem ent team (and not just IT
team ) you have to m ake your technology hat secondary and
m anagem ent hat prim ary and look at opportunities and challenges
from business point and not just technology point,says H ero
M otoCorps Vijay Sethi. Furtherm ore, as Paolo Cavosi says, such
change to the CIO skillset is not solely aim ed at delivering m ore
effectively on the job, but also for helping to boost the overall
career trajectory of the CIO (see The CIO s careeron page 26).
Today, you need to be a good business
consultant to the CEO , the CO O and
even the CFO .

J rg Wahlers, CFO , Villeroy & Boch
Hello, does anyone here speak business?
A nother com m on shortcom ing am ong todays CIO s is the failure to
talk in the language of business. A nd getting this w rong is often
the quickest w ay to lose an invitation to the top table. Its boring
for an executive to explain to a CIO how their business m odels
w ork. Know that beforehand, or they w ont invite you to join in,
says Thom as Pirlein, CIO of Esprit, the global fashion brand.
A nil Jaggia, the CIO of H DFC Bank, Indias second largest private
Bank in term s of asset book size, says it is especially crucial to be
able to describe IT issues in a w ay that the rest of the business can
relate to. H e gives an exam ple of justifying an upgrade of obsolete
infrastructure. You could just position it as obsolete, and theres
nothing w rong w ith that. H ow ever, if you can talk about the im pact
on custom er availability, its the sam e thing, but you are m aking a
far stronger im pact,he says.
Ernst & Youngs David N ichols gives an exam ple of selling a
cloud-based service to the rest of the business. Instead of pitching
this as a sw itch that w ill deliver cost reductions, he argues that,
w hen focusing on the value it brings, you capture the CEO s
attention: They have to be able to say, H ey guess w hat? I know
how to increase our custom er loyalty by 7.5% using cloud
com puting. Let m e tell you w hat that does for earnings per share,
if w e can do it.A ll this underlines the need for CIO s to have a
sound grasp of nancial skills.
This is not only true w hen pitching for budgets, but also in
w rapping up projects successfully. Yes, the C-suite w ants to know
about the basic IT things,says Ernst & Youngs M ichel Savoie.
But m ore im portantly, CIO s need to com m unicate on business
outcom es. Did w e reduce costs? Did w e sim plify our processes?
Did w e conquer another m arket? Did w e increase custom er
satisfaction?
The rapid-growth market CIO
With the worlds eyes on Brazil, China, India, Russia and
other rapid-growth markets as the engines propelling the
global economy, what are the typical characteristics of CIOs
in these countries?
At a basic level, t he t it le of IT director is a far more
common t it le t han CIO, which in part reect s t he fact t hat
t he average company size in t hese market s is smaller (but
growing fast).
IT leaders in rapid-growt h market s tend to have slight ly
shorter tenures, wit h far fewer having st uck around for a
decade or more (13%, versus 29%). They also tend to be
younger, at an average age of 39, compared wit h 47 for
t heir developed market peers.
Theyre also palpably more ambit ious: 35%want a bigger
CIO role, and 18%fancy a shot at t he top CEO job, compared
wit h just 27%and 4%among CIOs in mat ure market s.
While t hey ident ify t he same t arget skills, t hey generally see
a greater need to sharpen t heir skillset .
They appear to be bet ter networkers, wit h closer t ies, on
average, to bot h t he front ofce and st akeholders out side
t he business. Nevert heless, t heyre rat her less likely to be
involved in t heir companies st rategic business decisions.
Rapid-growt h market CIOs are far more likely to hold an IT
qualicat ion: 60%hold a bachelors or masters level degree
in IT, compared wit h 40%of mat ure market CIOs.
15
Mast ering t he juggling act
A nother m ajor skillset that em erges from this study is the need to
m anage com plex situations in particular, m ajor IT transform ation
projects. A bout three-quarters (74%) of CIO s rate project and
change m anagem ent skills as crucial for their role, w hile 77%
regard an analytical approach and organizational skills as sim ilarly
im portant. This ability spans both day-to-day project m anagem ent
and the underlying politics. This requires CIO s to dare to assum e
responsibility for tough projects that not everyone w ould
necessarily be bought into.
This is not m erely about being w illing to raise ones hand for a
risky change m anagem ent initiative, but being w illing to handle the
com plex social and political dynam ic that com es w ith this,says
W erner Boeing, CIO of Roche Diagnostics, a leading life sciences
com pany. It also highlights another key change to the role of the
CIO , and one that m any CIO s from yesteryear have struggled to
adapt to: establishing a netw ork of strong relationships across the
business.
16
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
The relationships for success
Any t op execut ive role is polit ical in nat ure, operat ing
wit hin an ecosyst em of relat ionships. Alt hough few
have yet fully adapt ed, many CIOs recognize t his. In
fact , when asked about what must be achieved t o
gain promot ion, t he need t o build relat ionships and
t rust wit h key int ernal st akeholders overwhelmingly
t opped t he list for bot h young and old CIOs, and
across companies of all sizes. Nearly t hree-quart ers
(72%) rat ed t his as highly import ant .
5
The rest of t he
C-suit e agrees, put t ing t he highest emphasis on t his,
wit h 58%rat ing it as a high priorit y.
I think this has really changed in recent years. Rather than being a
technical solutions provider, w ere now being called in to better
understand the needs of both internal and external stakeholders to
the business. You cant do this w ithout building a relationship w ith
them rst,says Ibukun A debayo, Director of IT at Turning Point, a
U K-based Social Enterprise. Esprits Thom as Pirlein identi es this
as one of the biggest changes to the role of the CIO in recent years.
The key skill is good relationship building,he argues, noting that
this com es in parallel w ith having to w in trust from the rest of the
business.
But such a shift in focus can com e as a shock for m any. In the
past, CIO s w ere m ore IT focused, but now suddenly youre dealing
w ith corporate strategic thinking and that requires a lot of skill in
being able to m aneuver through the politics,explains Capaldi of
Gulf N ew s. For too long, too m any IT leaders have not done enough
to reach out to the rest of the business to develop long-lasting
relationships that can support their w ider change efforts.
H ow ever, it is also clear that not all are yet w illing to adapt. W hen
asked to prioritize a list of tasks and issues com pared w ith ve
years ago, only about one-third (35%) of CIO s rated internal politics
as a higher priority, below all else. But w hile few appear to relish
such distractions, avoiding this w ont help to shift the internal
perception of the CIO role. You need to have relationships w ith all
business unit leaders. They are interested in grow th and beating
the com petition, and they need technology m ore and m ore to do
this. If they dont believe in you, if they think you are just som eone
w ho m aintains the status quo, then you w ill lose their support and
they w ill start to bypass you,w arns Bayers H artert.
Who t o schmooze : aiming high and wide
The next question, then, is w ith w hom should the CIO seek to
develop stronger relationships? A s be ts ITs long-running history
as a cost control function, CIO s hold the closest relationship w ith
the CFO . But CIO s recognize the CEO as a key position for the
overall developm ent of their careers. W ithout the CEO s strong
com m itm ent and support, you w ill not m anage to deliver on the
w hole change and transform ation aspect of your role,says Rom an
Dudzik, the CIO of Energa, a m ajor Polish energy utility com pany.
O f course, in expanding discussions to encom pass the CEO and
other leaders, CIO s have to force the conversation onto m atters
about ITs value and role w ithin the business, rather than getting
tied up in budgets alone.
5 Refer to chart 13 on page 36 for further attributes of im portance for a CIO s
career developm ent.
CIO s are in a unique position, often
holding a helicopter view of w hats
going on in the business.

Chart 7: relevance of internal stakeholder relationships for CIO
Im portance for
career developm ent
Q uality and intensity
of relationship
74%
69%
ChieI Executive CIhcer (CEC)
58%
76%
ChieI Financial CIhcer (CFC)
52%
54%
ChieI Cperating CIhcer (CCC)
40%
61%
Department heads
32%
43%
ChieI 5ales CIhcer (C5C)
26%
36%
ChieI Marketing CIhcer (CMC)
from 1 = not at all to 10 = absolutely)
A cross m any interview s, leading CIO s repeatedly pointed out the
im portance of developing links across a w ide range of key internal
stakeholders, beyond just the C-suite. It has to start at the top
level but, even w ith the best support from the CEO , if I dont have
the rest of the business aligned w ith m e and trusting m e, I w ill fail,
says M aureen O sborne, Global CIO of Ernst & Young. Gerhard Bikar,
CIO of M A H LE, a global autom otive supply com pany, says there is a
clear need to spend a lot m ore tim e com m unicating outside of the
IT function and to a m uch w ider set of executives. M A H LE has
about 50,000 em ployees and Bikar estim ates that he needs to
develop a very good relationship w ith the top 50 executives. You
need to spend a lot of tim e on com m unication, perhaps even m ore
than 50%,he says. This is challenging, as it show s that you need
a strong IT m anagem ent team behind you, to delegate less
im portant tasks to.
This, in turn, ags up a blind spot for m any CIO s. In particular,
m any of those polled for this study often failed to recognize the
value of developing across the business, especially those in the
front-of ce and sales function. Given that CIO s have typically been
regarded as running a back-of ce function, this is of little surprise.
But it is a w orry. Failing to foster such links does little to advance
the case of the IT function and regard for the CIO as a provider
of innovation and value. M ost crucially, for CIO s to be given a seat
at the top table, they need to have a hand in helping to develop the
revenue-generating side of the business and they m ust also be
perceived to be doing so.
In general, am ong those polled, CIO s w ithin the consum er products
sector stand out as exceptions here. They typically hold stronger
relationships across the entirety of the C-suite, rather than
focusing on one or tw o speci c executives. A lso, given the nature
of their industry, they are in closer com m unication w ith their
front-of ce colleagues and the heads of m arketing and sales. The
pressures to nurture such relationships m ay be less obvious in
other industries, but the recognition of the role of the CIO is
unlikely to shift m uch w ithout progress on this front.
Dont forget your right -hand man (or woman)
A nal internal relationship to rem em ber is the one that should be
closest to hand: the CIO s key delegate or protg, w ho is able to
run the m ajority of the operational side of IT on their behalf. This is
m ost typically the com panys IT director or IT m anager, and
som eone w ho m ay or m ay not aspire to the top job one day.
Indeed, w ithout this kind of backup, few CIO s w ill be able to extract
them selves from the day-to-day re ghting, and free up enough
tim e to engage in outw ard-facing dialogue w ith the rest of the
business. Its the partnership betw een the CIO and the IT director
thats really critical to m ake this w ork,says Ernst & Youngs Benoit
Laclau. The CIO has to put m ore w eight onto the strategic side of
things, and be m ore value led. H ow ever, he cant do that if he
hasnt got a really good and trusted right-hand IT director.
18
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
Relationship building
Across numerous interviews, a clear set of principles emerge
that governs how leading CIOs should develop and nurture
the key relationships they need for their success. The main
principles are:
1. Establish trust and credibility by building up a solid track
record: t o gain t he t rust of ot hers, CIOs need t o draw up a
st rong list of accomplishment s. You need a dat abank of
successful project s, so t hat people see you as someone
st able and successful in implement ing what s needed, says
Asian Paint s CIO Manish Choksi.
2. Gain an understanding of other executives issues, in the
context of their function or unit: this also involves getting a
clear sense of the targets and goals that theyre pursuing.
Im not a tax expert, but Ive spent tim e understanding w hat
the key issues are w ithin that function,says Ernst & Young
Global CIO M aureen O sborne.
3. Help people in a x: w henever possible, try to go the extra
m ile to help another business leader in a tight spot. Do
som ething out of the ordinary that gets som eone out of a
hole,says H DFC Bank CIO A nil Jaggia.
4. Invest time with people, both formally and informally: its
im portant to have regular m eetings to discuss xed issues,
but also m ake the tim e to netw ork less form ally such as over
lunch or coffee. Even if there is no particular new situation
that requires you to talk to these key people, m ake sure that
you have regular interactions w ith them anyw ay,says Bayer
Group CIO Daniel H artert.
5. Set up cross-functional internal stakeholder groups:
establish cross-functional team s to brainstorm and develop
ideas for future developm ent. If IT can be a leader w ithin
these groups, it builds a strong position for later on,says
M arek Frackiew icz, CIO of Polski Koncern N aftow y O RLEN .
6. Be proactive and positive about engagement: although its
easy to fear the risk of sim ply adding to their w orkload, CIO s
need to be proactive about reaching out to other divisions.
They also need to share their natural enthusiasm for w hat IT
can do. Its not easy to go there and to say, O kay guys, lets
do som ething together,but you need to,says A drien
Gonckel, CIO of Givaudan.
Ext ernal relat ionships mat t er t oo
A ttention also needs to be paid to key roles outside the corporate
w alls. This spans the regulatory com m unity, analysts, the
com panys clients and the m edia. Few CIO s today regard these as
crucial relationships. This is especially true w ithin speci c cultures.
M any respondents originating from Germ an-speaking countries
and Eastern Europe are exceedingly dism issive of external
relationships. By contrast, CIO s in m any rapid-grow th m arkets are
m ore likely to see value in these.
O verall, how ever, the lack of strong relationships as w ell as the
consideration that m any of these are sim ply unim portant does
little to reassure other m em bers of the C-suite that CIO s deserve a
presence at the top level. Laurent Ferrari of EDF notes how a
personal netw ork of external contacts he has built up over tim e has
been invaluable in giving him an edge in his role. The CIO has to
be part of a lot of different netw orks,he notes.
Clients are a particular point of contention, as m any CIO s have
historically done their best to avoid direct contact w ith such
stakeholders. Clearly the im portance of this w ill vary w idely across
speci c industries, but m any note that there is little harm in CIO s
gaining a greater understanding of the needs of the rm s
custom ers. The headquarters of Bayer are not contributing to our
36b of revenue. Its all out there in the eld. So go there and get
that experience,argues Daniel H artert. But only half (49%) of CIO s
polled for this study noted relationships w ith custom ers as being a
strength, w ith even few er (35%) considering it an im portant one to
develop. This can easily becom e a m isstep, as several CIO s w arn. I
think in order to m ake the right decisions in IT, w e need to
understand very w ell w here the m oney is com ing from ,says N este
O ils Kari Keskiivari.
19
Chart 8: relevance of external stakeholder relationships for CIOs
Im portance for
career developm ent
Q uality and intensity
of relationship
35%
49%
Client s
25%
41%
Regulat ors
23%
39%
Analyst s
14%
21%
Media
from 1 = not at all to 10 = absolutely)
O verall, the relationship gap is m ost apparent w ith the m edia. CIO s
readily adm it this, but also seem ingly shrug their shoulders at the
bene ts that m edia engagem ent could provide. Just one in ve
CIO s (21%) say their m edia relationships are good. Even few er
(14%) regard this as high im portance. A lthough som e are barred
from contact here, it still seem s a lost opportunity. The technology
m edia affords CIO s am ple opportunity to provide an independent
assessm ent of the value of IT. Such view s also tend to carry m ore
w eight. Keskiivari cites an old saying that a voice from outside the
com pany is alw ays given m uch m ore im portance than one from
w ithin. A nd even for those w ho profess not to hold am bitions to
higher of ce, a good CIO w ill w ant their team s efforts to gain w ider
recognition.
This need appears to be m ore w idely recognized w ithin rapid-
grow th m arkets. CIO s there rated m edia relationships as alm ost
tw ice as im portant as their peers from m ore advanced econom ies.
H DFC Banks Jaggia cites the im portance of w inning m edia aw ards,
for exam ple, as a m eans of furthering internal in uence.
The CIO has to be part of a lot of
different netw orks.

Laurent Ferrari, Group CIO , EDF
Youve been meeting and talking to CIOs for many years now.
What are the key changes youve observed in recent years, in
terms of the types of people who are now taking the top
technology job?
There are m ore CIO s now w ith direct experience of a business
function, rather than w ith a traditional IT background. A lso, for a
lot of com panies, although you m ight see this differently, w e notice
that m any CIO positions have often becom e a shorter-term role.
W e quite often see CIO s com ing in to m anage a change process to
im plem ent a m ajor new strategic system , and then they nish up
and m ove on. So there are a lot m ore CIO s around w ho are
basically change m anagem ent experts.
Media relations is a very low priority for CIOs. Why do you think
this might be?
Its likely due to a lack of trust. For m any people w hove been in IT
for a long tim e, the m edia focus has m ostly been on projects
failing, system s crashing and budgets going over. So I can
understand their w ariness about talking to the press. But looking at
the situation today, I think m any publications have changed and
often act as a cham pion for CIO s. This doesnt m ean w e dont cover
IT failures, but w e w ant to see CIO s m oving up and being
recognized for w hat they do. U nfortunately, som e sim ply dont see
the necessity to change their position w ith the business and m ove
up.
What value do you think a greater media presence can give a
CIO?
W e know CIO s have got a lot of value out of talking to the m edia.
M any people contact them to say theyve read a piece about a
project of theirs and found it very interesting. M any are seeing
bene ts in term s of their personal PR, as w ell as the corporate
reputation bene ts of being m ore involved in the m edia. It certainly
helps their career and their internal positioning for a m ore senior
role in the business or even a new job altogether. M any CIO s have
also found it easier to recruit people afterw ard, as a result of the
w ider pro le.
Which stakeholders do you think CIOs tend to overlook as they
build the relationships they need to be successful in their role?
CIO s these days are generally doing a better job of building an
internal stakeholder netw ork, but theres certainly still scope to do
m ore of this externally. Increasingly, the role of the CIO is to be an
ideas person and an innovator. If they can nd w ays to netw ork
m ore effectively w ith people outside of their com pany, it can open
their eyes to new possibilities and ideas.
This report talks about the evolving skillset of the CIO. What do
you see as the key skills required of a modern CIO?
The m ost im portant attribute for a CIO today is to be a
com m unicator som eone w ho can collaborate w ith people from a
lot of different backgrounds and environm ents. Theyve got to be
able to lead the IT function in a w ay that w ill best support the rest
The media perspective
Bryan Glick, Editor-in-Chief of Com puterW eekly, the U Ks largest technology publication aim ed at CIO s, gives his view on how the role of
the CIO has been changing.
21
of the business. CIO s are in a unique position, often holding a
helicopter view of w hats going on in the business. The days of guys
in their brow n corduroys and tw eed jackets, sitting in the corner of
their data center, are thankfully behind us. Today, the m ost
successful CIO s are som e of the best public speakers and
com m unicators around. They are adept at putting across com plex
topics in an easy to understand w ay.
How do you think companies can benet from having a
modern CIO on board?
If you ask anyone to nam e the top ve m ost innovative com panies
over the past ve years, they w ill either be technology com panies
like Facebook, or else rm s that rely on technology to differentiate
them selves in their niche, such as Tesco [one of the w orlds largest
retailers]. Indeed, Tesco is one of the rst m ajor com panies to
appoint its form er CIO as its CEO . A nd the current CIO there tells
us that there are basically tw o m ajor areas of capital expenditure
for the business: retail stores and technology, on a par w ith each
other. Thats an exam ple of w hat com panies can do w hen leading
CIO s get this right. Technology can help them really differentiate
them selves in the m arket. Youre starting to see a lot m ore rm s
w ith that sort of m indset.
22
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
The CIOs cont ribut ion in any business can be wide
ranging in it s scope. To a great ext ent , it depends on
t he nat ure of t he business from a ret ailer t rying t o
compet e wit h new online rivals, t hrough t o a
manufact urer managing a global supply chain, or a
services business t rying t o boost st aff product ivit y.
Nevert heless, t here is a general set of areas t o which
all CIOs should cont ribut e.
The rst st ep involves execut ion of t he basics
keeping syst ems up and running, while keeping close
t abs on t he organizat ions overall IT spend. In many
respect s, t his t s closely wit h t he IT management
aspect of t he role.
But t his is just t he beginning of t he CIOs remit . The
next major st rand deals wit h enablement . This is
where a more operat ional focus st art s t o give way t o
somet hing more st rat egic in nat ure. Here, t he CIO
has t o act as an informat ion broker, providing
insight s t o help all part s of t he business improve
t heir decision-making. At t he same t ime, t here is t he
need t o collaborat e closely wit h t he rest of t he
business t o enable and opt imize relat ed business
processes.
The CIOs role
At t he highest level, CIOs are also called upon t o help
develop t he business furt her, which is where t he
roles great est evolut ion t akes place. This aspect of
t he CIOs cont ribut ion t ypically breaks down int o t wo
areas: preparing and developing t he business for
change, and suggest ing new business model
innovat ions.
Across t his breadt h of t asks, CIOs must draw on a
diverse set of skills, knowledge and past experiences.
And, in each area, t hey must also fost er relat ionships
wit h part icular st akeholders. The following sect ion
out lines all of t hese in great er det ail, providing a
helicopt er view of t he CIOs cont ribut ion t o t he
business. While t he weight ing of each segment will
depend bot h on t he nat ure of t he business and t he
individual in quest ion, t hey are all crit ical in making
up t he role of t he CIO of t omorrow.
22
23
Providing insight to
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
on t he organization
Shaping t he fut ure
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
Ensuring t he IT and
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
The CIO's
role
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Werner Boeing, CIO , Roche Diagnostics
Managing costs
Core skills Core knowledge
Excellent budget planning and allocation skills
Being able to track costs incurred relating to IT or the IT
function
Pricing of IT services delivered to the business or
custom ers
M aintaining transparent cost m onitoring and reporting
A ligning spend-related m onitoring and m easurem ent w ith
the CFO s reporting standards
Com m unicating perform ance clearly
Being able to dem onstrate business acum en
Know ledge of budgeting, costing and accounting
principles relevant to the jurisdictions in w hich the
organization operates
Detailed know ledge of IT services and related prices
Know ledge of dashboard-like nancial reporting
Know ledge of cost-ef cient sourcing strategies
Know ledge of return on investm ent m easures and capital
budgeting
A w areness of the m arket and com m ercial environm ent
Key areas of experience Key relationships
Business acum en
Financial m anagem ent (in particular, planning and
forecasting)
Cost m anagem ent and control
Sourcing, contract and service level m anagem ent
Custom er relationship m anagem ent
M arketing and com m unication
Supplier relationship m anagem ent
Chief nancial of cer
Chief executive of cer
Business unit heads
Business unit controllers
Finance departm ent em ployees
Procurem ent departm ent em ployees
External suppliers
Controlling the impact of IT spend on
the organization
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Bringing business model innovation
Managing costs
Keeping th e l i g h t s o n
Acting as an information broker Generating ideas and solutions
D e l i v e r i n g t r ansformation
M
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t
s
1
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
Keeping the lights on
Being able to deliver IT services and security at agreed
service levels and w ithout interruptions
M anaging daily IT operations in the m ost effective and
ef cient w ay
Strengthening ITs business-w ide reputation by sticking to
prom ises and agreem ents
Identifying, com m unicating and resolving IT and security
risks and inform ation effectively
Detailed understanding of business requirem ents
Know ledge of business-critical processes and related IT
services
Know ledge of business-critical security threats and
respective m itigations
Know how and w hen to apply 80/20 rule in order to deliver
IT on tim e, budget and quality
Know how IT should be organized to deliver value to the
business
IT operations m anagem ent
Business applications m anagem ent
Inform ation security m anagem ent
Business continuity m anagem ent
Continuous service im provem ent
People m anagem ent
Incident m anagem ent
Con ict m anagem ent
Chief com pliance of cer
Chief operating of cer
Chief risk of cer
H ead of internal audit
Ensuring the IT and security needs
are up and running
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Managing costs
2
securit y needs are
up and running
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Acting as an information broker
A nticipating business needs and providing adequate and
suf cient inform ation quickly and ef ciently
M aintaining sophisticated inform ation architectures in
order to be able to access the right data at the right
speed
M anaging data storage m ore thoroughly and accurately
Com m unicating clearly the IT im plications of proposals
Being able to think out of the boxand to be creative
Being able to dem onstrate business acum en
Know ledge of the organizations business, products and
service lines
A w areness of m arket trends, risks and issues
Know ledge of enterprise-w ide inform ation m anagem ent,
i.e., Enterprise Intelligence
Know ledge of database and access m anagem ent
Know ledge of m aster data m anagem ent and
architectures
Know ledge of technology platform s that w ill support the
business
Inform ation m anagem ent and business intelligence
Know ledge m anagem ent
Data capture approaches and m ethodologies
Business applications m anagem ent
Custom er relationship m anagem ent
M arketing and com m unication
Chief m arketing and com m unications of cer
Chief hum an resource of cer
Business unit controllers
Providing insight to support
business decisions
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Managing costs
3
Providing insight
to support business
decisions
Acting as a
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Generating ideas and solutions
Continuously delivering latest and m ost innovative IT
services to the business
Enabling business function and processes to enhance
their innovation and idea generation capability
Proactively gathering internal and external business
inputs, and stakeholder im pressions
Gathering, developing and evaluating ideas from ow n
staff via the use of ow n know ledge m anagem ent process
Being able to clearly com m unicate IT and risk issues to
C-suite and colleagues
Developing strategic plans to achieve corporate goals
Know how to access internal and external sources for
trends and inspirations
Know ledge of strategic and operational planning
Know ledge of innovation m anagem ent best practices
Know ledge of latest technology trends
Know how to adopt best practices from other areas or
com petencies
Know ledge of the organizations business, products and
service lines
O verview of the industry structure and challenges
Technology innovations
Strategic planning
Know ledge m anagem ent
M arketing, com m unication and custom er relationship
m anagem ent
Continuous service im provem ent
Business process m anagem ent and optim ization
Providing support in launching new products or services
O perational areas, such as supply chain, nance, H R
Chief innovation of cer
Chief m arketing of cer
External suppliers and custom ers
Business unit heads
CIO s of other com panies
Enhancing business processes by
being an active business partner
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Managing costs
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
G
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4
Delivering transformation
Leadership skills to drive through change in IT
Enabling and leading business transform ations by driving
IT transform ations
Proactively recom m ending transform ations to board
m em bers in order to strengthen and m aintain
com petitive advantage
Setting and com m unicating the vision and strategy for IT
Providing robust but constructive challenge to business
stakeholders
Com m unicating clearly the IT and risk im plications of
proposals
Sponsoring delivery of planned transform ation or m ajor
change initiatives In the IT function
Detailed understanding of ITs role in business
transform ations
A w areness of proposed organizational change and
transform ation projects
Know ledge of strategic and operational planning
Know ledge of program and portfolio m anagem ent
techniques
Know ledge of change m anagem ent techniques and
pitfalls
Practical understanding of people m anagem ent
im plications during change and transform ation projects
Large-scale transform ation m anagem ent
Scenario planning
Change m anagem ent
M anaging external custom er relationships
M anaging internal custom er relationships
Internal com m unication of proposed changes and
im plications
Cultural expertise
Chief hum an resource of cer
H ead of corporate developm ent and strategy
Preparing and developing the
organization for change
Providing insight t o
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organizat ion
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Managing costs
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
5

D
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t
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A nticipating future im pact of latest trends on IT function
and the business
Radically innovating existing business m odels
U tilizing IT as the enabler for innovative business m odels
Sharing thoughts on existing and new business m odels
w ith board m em bers and other business executives
Engaging w ith business stakeholders to determ ine the
appropriate role for IT
In uencing key stakeholders and w inning trust and
support for IT projects
Turning strategic plans into operational plans and targets
(including de ning KPIs and m onitoring progress)
A w areness of industry and organizational risk pro le
A w areness of the m arket and com m ercial environm ent
Know ledge of business m odeling and design thinking
Know ledge of innovation m anagem ent best practices
Know how to adopt best practices from other areas or
com petencies
Detailed understanding of ITs role in business m odel
innovations
Business m odel innovation
Business acum en
Scenario planning
Business case creation
M arketing, com m unication and custom er relationship
m anagem ent
Chief innovation of cer
Chief m arketing and com m unications of cer
H ead of product developm ent
H ead of corporate developm ent and strategy
Shaping the future of the business
with the right technology
support business
decisions
Cont rolling t he
impact of IT spend
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
securit y needs are
up and running
Preparing and
developing t he
organization
for change
Enhancing business
processes by being
an active business
part ner
TheCIO's
role
1
2
3 4
5
6
Managing costs
of t he business
wit h t he right
t echnology
6
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novation
26
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
Many senior execut ive roles are oft en regarded as
milest ones on rout e t o bigger posit ions. Wit hin some
indust ries, COOs are oft en t hought of as CEOs-in-
wait ing. However, t he majorit y of CIOs do not aspire
t o move out of IT. Overall, about t wo-t hirds (64%) see
t he role of CIO as an end-dest inat ion in it self.
Is this desire to rem ain w ithin the sam e role a re ection of there
being lim ited opportunity for CIO s outside of IT, or sim ply
satisfaction w ith the role itself? There is truth in both points. M any
CIO s, especially those w ho cut their teeth in a technology eld,
enjoy the potential that it holds for them . In fact, one-third (33%)
of respondents are satis ed to stay w ithin the role that they
currently hold. This largely rem ains true for younger CIO s too: 27%
of those under 40 are happy to stick in their current role,
com pared w ith 36% of those in their 40s or older.
The CIOs career: a fullling end-destination
Chart 9: CIO career aspirations where they see themselves in
ve years time
11%
3%
13%
5%
31%
13%
33%
63%
13%
18%
CIO s C-suite
CEO
C-suit e ot her
Bigger CIO role
Happy t o st ay in
current posit ion
Ot her
W hen asked to rate a variety of aspects of their role, from the
range of responsibilities through to their w ork-life balance, CIO s
record an average ranking of 6.9 out of 10, w here 10 is absolutely
satis ed. In particular, there is general satisfaction w ith the rem it
and range of responsibilities: about tw o-thirds (64%) of CIO s
ranked this as som ething they are strongly satis ed w ith.
Three career routes for the CIO
The CIOs polled for this report were all asked about their
future career aspirations and where they go to from here.
Three broad groups emerged from the results:
The happy technocrat: t hese CIOs often hail from more
technology-oriented backgrounds. They love technology and
are typically sat ised wit h t he work t hey get to do and
indeed t hey work very hard at it . However, t heyre not
usually seated at t he top execut ive t able, and appear to hold
lit t le desire to move up t here. I sensed t hat wit hin my
peers, many CIOs are act ually very happy wit h what t hey are
doing. As long as t he job is kept interest ing by special project s
t hat t he business want s and where t he board has t rust in t he
CIO, remarks BB CIO Peter Lenz.
The aspirational CIO: t hese CIOs enjoy working wit hin IT and
are happy to st ay t here. However, t hey are also anxious to
develop and expand t he scope of t heir remit and
responsibilit ies, not least because so few CIOs are properly
represented at t he top level of t he company. As such, securing
Its not w hat you learnt, or w hat you
based your professional experience
on, so you have to learn dancing naked
on the stage in order to qualify.

Christian Gosch, CIO , Erste Bank
but with scope for development
Chart 10: extent to which CIOs are satised with key aspects
of their role
64%
Remit and range of responsibilit ies
50%
Ability to inhuence broader
company strategy
42%
Compensation, benehts
and incentives
42%
Potential Ior career development
39%
People's perceptions oI the
role of a CIO
38%
WorkliIe balance
37%
Allocation oI resources such as
headcount and budget to IT
from 1 = not satisfied at all to 10 = absolutely satisfied)
The rest of the C-suite is overw helm ingly in agreem ent: about
three-quarters (63%) sim ply dont think their CIO s aspire to any
other role w ithin the business. This m ay be accurate, but it also
highlights another perception gap that am bitious CIO s w ill have to
overcom e. M ost CIO s m ay be happy in their role, but this does not
suggest that a signi cant proportion is w ithout am bition for higher
of ce. H ow ever, only 8% of the C-suite recognize such am bitions,
w ith a further 13% acknow ledging that the CIO m ay be happy in
the position, but still am bitious for a larger CIO role.
O ne-third (31%) of the CIO s polled plan to m ove into a bigger, m ore
pow erful CIO role either a position in the executive m anagem ent
team , or scaling up into a role w ithin a signi cantly larger business.
The prim ary driver for this appears to be a sim ple desire for new
challenges and greater personal im provem ent. This is especially
true of younger CIO s still ram ping up their careers and those in
rapid-grow th m arkets. A nd such aspirations are especially
prom inent am ong CIO s at businesses w ith revenues in excess of
U S$1b, w here 37% plan to m ove on to bigger jobs.
O f course, the scale of the role can vary hugely from one business
to another. CIO s can m anage anyw here from 100 to 20,000
people, and they can go from CIO s of very local com panies through
to large global ones. Though theyre all called CIO s, there are ones
w here you start sm all and learn the basics of m anaging IT. Then
you can do it on a broader scale, right the w ay up to a global
scale,says Ernst & Youngs M aureen O sborne.
a seat at t he top management t able is and should be a key
priority for CIOs. Or, as a st aging post , t his may involve t aking a
CIO role wit hin a far larger organizat ion. Modern CIOs need to
ensure access to t he right decision-makers wit hin t he business
in order to do a proper job, says Apotek Hjrt at CIO Pet ter
Sundberg.
The business executive in waiting: for a proport ion of CIOs,
especially t hose wit h a business background, t here can be a
desire to use t he role as a st aging post for fut ure challenges.
There is very lit t le in t he way of a pre-determined route here,
wit h roles as diverse as t he CEO, COO, head of supply chain,
or even chief technology ofcer suggested. I t hink next for
me would be a role in a new business area, and t hen maybe
moving on and having aspirat ions to even become t he CEO.
But being able, at least , to lead a new business would be t he
next role I aspire to, says Asian Paint s CIO and Chief of
Corporate St rategy Manish Choksi.
Looking elsewhere
O f course, there is also a cadre of CIO s w ho plan to m ove
elsew here in the business. They account for one-third (37%) of
those polled. A bout 1 in 10 (11%) aspire to the top job: the role of
CEO . O thers hold an interest in functions varying from CO O , CFO ,
running another business unit, right through to a shift into the
m ore technically oriented role of chief technology of cer (CTO ).
For m any of these positions, an am bitious, but realistic and
valuable, staging post could be to explore the chance to run a
different business unit as a m anaging director. But for those CIO s
w ith a m ore technology-oriented side, a fundam ental change
w ould be to rethink their nancial skills and com m unication. A s
Ernst & Youngs Benoit Laclau points out, m any often dont fully
grasp the language of net present value, cash ow s and how costs
can be positioned in signi cantly different w ays. They think a cost
is a cost, and dont talk about costs in term s of the balance sheet
or pro t and loss,he notes.
M any CIO s recognize the dif culties in m aking such shifts and the
potential risks involved. The step-up w ill require CIO s to leave
their IT skills and do som ething com pletely different, w hich is
pretty m uch about their m anagerial quali cations. Its not w hat
you learnt, or w hat you based your professional experience on, so
you have to learn dancing naked on the stage in order to qualify,
says Erste Banks Gosch.
N evertheless, CIO s bring a range of skills and experiences that can
translate w ell into other roles, such as heading up another business
unit. Perhaps the m ost im portant thing is the access that m any get
to the rest of the business. Theyre strong generalists and theyve
had exposure to all the different business areas,says Isobel
Thom son, the CIO of H einz, the global food and condim ent brand,
w ith over U S11 billion in annual revenue. Ernst & Youngs M ichel
Savoie agrees, arguing that few other executives have the
opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the w ider
business. The head of m arketing w ill understand m arketing and
the custom ers. The head of supply chain w ill understand supply
chain. But the CIO sits w ith the CO O across all the businesses and
has a full understanding. The CIO , w ith the right business skills, is
very w ell placed to be the one getting prom oted to CO O and CEO .
To som e degree, such opportunities also vary based on the
underlying sector that CIO s operate w ithin, argues Ernst & Youngs
Paolo Cavosi. Som e industries, such as technology and telecom s,
are a m ore natural t for CIO s, providing clear opportunities for a
transition to the role of CEO , for exam ple. In a num ber of other
industries, such as m anufacturing, the CIO is perhaps better
positioned to becom e a CO O , or a business unit m anager. For
others, such as banking, the transition to the top can be far
tougher. The top job in sectors such as nancial services is often
dependent on having strong relationships outside the business,
w hich a CIO w ouldnt necessarily be cultivating,says Cavosi.
Many CIOs st ill lack a career development st rat egy
O ne of the perspectives of the CIO that em erges from this research
is the im age of an individual w ho is strongly com m itted to the
business and w ho puts in signi cant w ork and effort. H ow ever,
there is a clear sense that, for a num ber of CIO s, not enough tim e
or priority is given to the developm ent of a clear career strategy.
A bout one-third (35%) adm it that they are strongly in need of
advice on how best to develop their career, w hich re ects the lack
of attention that m any w ithin technology have given to this aspect
of the role. This is especially apparent am ong CIO s w ho rate
them selves m ost highly on their technology expertise, as opposed
to those w ith a m ore business-oriented education.
Chart 11: extent to which CIOs need some career advice
Strongly needed (810) M oderately needed (47) N ot needed (13)
(O n a scale from 1 = not needed at all to 10 = absolutely needed)
18% 47% 35%
CIOs
28% 58% 14%
C-suit e
This lack of a developm ent plan holds risks for m any. A lthough
aspirational, CIO s show aw areness of the need to develop and
reshape the perception of IT w ithin the business. M any of the
happy technocratsare at risk if they dont change. If the
com m oditization of IT continues to gather pace, w ith consequent
changes to the nature of technology, those CIO s w ho have not
repositioned them selves m ay be scram bling to adapt to a new
reality. To avoid this, there is a clear need for CIO s to ensure that
they successfully rede ne their role w ithin the business, m aking
them selves a m ore strategic partner and co-driver.Ignoring this
today m ight not dam age them . But few can afford to continue
doing so for long. There is a strong need for a transition, to stay in
touch as the role of the CIO evolves. This is about developing our
skills before the change occurs, rather than w aiting for the change
to hit and bem oaning the fact that w eve been rem oved from the
role or, w orse still, sidelined as the business continues to transition
tow ards a new age,notes Turning Points Ibukun A debayo.
For those w ho fail to develop and im plem ent a m ore coherent
career plan the risk of becom ing sidelined w ithin the business w ill
continue to grow. O r they w ill rem ain engaged, but increasingly
nd them selves to be a de facto IT m anager rather than a genuine
CIO . If CIO s dont position them selves to take advantage of the
changes that are taking place w ithin IT, they w ill just get relegated
to be non-CIO s. In doing so, the rest of the business w ill just choose
to bypass IT, m aking it m erely an infrastructure provider, rather
than an IT partner,says M anish Choksi, CIO and Chief of
Corporate Strategy at A sian Paints, one of Indias largest paint
m anufacturers.
Becoming t he yes man
A ny w ork on reconsidering a CIO s career m ap needs to be done in
parallel w ith efforts to change how the business perceives them . A s
noted earlier, few m em bers of the C-suite yet recognize any w ider
aspirations w ithin their CIO , but rather pigeonhole them w ithin
their existing positions. This can be problem atic both for the CIO s
trying to recast them selves in the business, and for the com panies
w ho risk losing a vital m em ber of their team if they dont give them
due recognition for their contribution. To replace som eone w hos
built up 10 years of experience and then decides to w alk out the
door is a real challenge,notes Villeroy & Boch CFO Jrg W ahlers.
For the CIO , this requires the delicate balancing act of proving ones
w orth w ithin a role, w hile actively dem onstrating an ability to m ove
upw ard. I see m yself as an IT person and I hope m y career w ill be
in this space. But its very m uch up to the CIO s them selves to
require a higher role,says Petter Sundberg, the CIO of A potek
H jrtat, a m ajor Sw edish pharm acy chain.
To succeed, the CIO needs to be perceived as som eone w ho is
w illing to nd solutions, rather than the person w ho sim ply ags up
risks. There is a place for such concerns, but in order to develop
their careers further, CIO s need to accom pany such issues w ith
solutions. They also need to think actively about how to
com m unicate the value of IT to the executive team . A s Sundberg
notes, m any CIO s consider them selves as w atchdogsw ho guard
the IT space w ithin the organization. But this narrow view can block
their progress. In order to get invited to the discussion, you need
to be very exible, both providing and contributing to good
solutions. You cannot just sit and say no, no, no,he says. You
very m uch shape your role w ith your attitude and how you actually
contribute to the decision-m aking process.
A s part of this transition in thinking, the need to step out and nd
w ays to positively surprise the rest of the business is often
com m unicated. I think it is im portant to take the initiative. A s a
specialist advisor to the business w e should not be talking about
the nuts and bolts of w hat w e do, but creating a m ore holistic
dialogue around architecture, including the relationship of
technical and data architecture w ith business architecture and
innovation,says Philip Proost, CIO of Catlin, a global insurer and
reinsurer. O verall, w e need to show not only how good the
everyday support services w e offer are but how w e can support the
differentiation of the business.
Its still a mans world
The realm of IT has long been recognized as a typically m ale
dom ain. A ll but three interview ees for this report w ere m ale, as
w ere 96% of respondents to our survey. The historical rationale
for this has been clear: CIO s usually hailed from a technical
background, as program m ers, netw ork specialists or data
center experts all elds dom inated by m en. But as the
requisite skillset of the CIO shifts tow ard a greater focus on
leadership, com m unication and netw orking, the gender
barriers ought to be rem oved.
A t Givaudan, A drien Gonckel gives a practical exam ple. To help the
business gain further insights into w hy custom ers selected certain
fragrances, his team cam e up w ith a concept for an iPhone app
that helped custom ers identify w hich perfum es m atched their
tastes. It gathered insights on peoples preferences across different
regions, ages and so on. H is team then collaborated closely w ith
the front of ce to develop this function in just tw o m onths, on a
relatively tiny budget a stark contrast to m any executives
perception of how IT delivers. I think you have to do it like this,
because if you go to your m arketing people and say I have a
fantastic idea, but com e back in tw o yearstim e,its m uch too
late,he says.
A basic, but fundam ental challenge is sim ply to be proactive. Its
about changing from the person w ho says I am available if I am
asked,to a person saying O kay guys, I have thought about this
business process and I w ould suggest that you consider doing it the
other w ay,says BBs Peter Lenz. W hen you can surprise your
board m em bers by being proactive and show ing a real interest in
their needs, you m ake m uch m ore of an im pression than you do as
just the IT guy,he argues. Gonckel offers a sim ilar argum ent: If I
w as just w aiting for things to com e to m y desk, I w ould have m uch
less to do. But its up to us to say, O kay, I can help, Im ready to
take this challenge,he says.
N one of this is a shocking revelation for anyone seeking to step up
in their career, but too m any CIO s today still appear to t the
reactive m old. A s IT continues to evolve, the pressure to change
w ill continue to m ount.
Age aint nothin but a number
Technology is often perceived as a young mans game, but
CIOs have been grappling with IT issues for decades. So how
do the Generation Y CIOs, whove grown up in a world of
technology, differ from their grizzled older colleagues?
Unsurprisingly, CIOs younger t han 40 tend to have shorter
tenures, at an average of four years, compared wit h six
years for t heir 40-plus peers.
Younger CIOs t hink an individuals leadership capabilit ies
and ot her softer skills are already far more relevant today,
and will remain so in fut ure: 33%see t heir leadership skills
as part of how t hey will be measured, compared wit h just
12%of older CIOs.
Younger CIOs generally appear to pay more at tent ion to
external relat ionships, especially regulators, analyst s and
client s (t hough it s unclear if t his is done in person, or via
Facebook). Theyre also typically far more media-friendly.
Theres lit t le difference in t heir relat ive ambit ions, alt hough
younger CIOs are more likely to be eyeing t he CEO role t han
t heir older peers. They are also far more interested in career
advice and generally highly mot ivated to learn.
Given t he more globalized world t heyve grown up in, t heyre
typically more cognizant of t he need for experience abroad,
but also in ot her part s of t he business.
How did your career progress to where you are today?
I started out at w hat w as then A ndersen Consulting, w orking on
developm ent program m ing, system s integration and that kind of
thing. A fter som e tim e at A ssociated N ew spapers, I joined the
Econom ist Group as CIO in 1997, before becom ing publisher for
The Economist, and then nally CEO in 2008.
How do you think the role of the CIO has changed in recent
years?
I think that technology is now at the core of w hat m any
organizations do; it is often a part of the products and services
being sold. A nd m any technologies have changed. You dont build
them yourself, and you dont buy boxes and stick them in your ow n
com puter room s. Therefore, the nature of the role shifts. Its not
about hundreds of servers, its about som ething m uch m ore akin to
an ecosystem , w hich requires a different skillset. But I dont think
this is particularly new. I think this transition has been going on for
the best part of 15 years.
Has this changed the way you measure the performance of the
CIO?
I think there are a couple of areas w here its changed. O ne relates
to how technology is often part of the product or service that
youre delivering. Im not talking about the IT organization to its
internal custom er; Im talking about the actual organization to its
real custom ers. So it brings the CIO very close to the m easures of
the business. A nd secondly, because of the shift to m ore of an
ecosystem , w hether thats w ith outsourcing or cloud com puting,
the CIO s relationships w ith the outside w orld have lots of m etrics
built in contractually for the services that youre gluing together.
These are now m uch m ore fundam ental to the organization.
Which relationships do you think are most important for a CIO
to be successful?
O bviously, the CEO is an im portant one. But I think m ore generally
one of the w ays to be a successful CIO is to ensure that w ith
w hom ever you are speaking, that person needs to think that all
that the CIO is interested in is them and their issues. The CIO s job
is to engage w ith those people sitting around the top table. They
have responsibilities that are im portant to that organization, and
therefore CIO s need to see them selves as helping those people
achieve success.
What key lessons have you identied in the transition from CIO
to CEO?
A s a CIO , Ive got to understand business, Ive got to do
com plicated things, Ive got to m anage people, Ive got to deal w ith
lots of stakeholders. Is that fundam entally different from running a
business? M y take is that it is different because, basically,
technology m anages to the dow nside. If youre a CIO and I com e to
you and say, Ive got an idea for you, it w ill transform w hat your
technology does, transform your cost base and the success of your
technology organization, but theres a 5% chance that its going to
destroy the com pany,every self-respecting CIO w ill turn you
dow n. A CEO m anages to the upside if you com e to a CEO and say,
Ive got an idea thats going to transform your com pany and m ake
it m ore successful, its going to delight custom ers, its going to
m ake your shareholders happy, but theres a 5% chance that its
going to bankrupt the com pany,as a CEO youll say, that sounds
great. Lets w ork out how to do it and m anage the risks.
In the end, m any CIO s dont w ant to m ake that sw itch.
The transition to CEO
A s CEO of the Econom ist Group, a U K m edia and publishing com pany, Andrew Rashbass is an exam ple of a CIO w ho has m ade the sw itch
up. H e gives his view on the transition.
32
Now is the time
to prepare for
the rebound
The DNA of the CIO
A toolkit for the aspiring CIO
What advice would CIOs give t o up-and-coming IT
professionals who have an eye on one day moving
int o t heir bosss shoes? In t he view of t odays CIOs,
sheer hard work and mot ivat ion was t he number one
ingredient in t heir rise t o t he t op. Nearly 9 out of 10
(86%) argue t hat t his was t he key t o t heir success.
N evertheless, w hile this is likely to be an essential part of how any
C-suite candidate got to w here they did, the CIO role com es w ith an
im portant caveat: beyond the dedication and long hours,
prospective candidates need to try and ensure that this tim e isnt
sim ply spent on operational re ghting. To succeed, this has to be
overcom e, in order to be able to dedicate m ore tim e to fostering
the relationships they need in order to grow, and to participate in
m ore strategic discussions. Those w ho dont m anage to overcom e
this risk get caught in the helpdesk trap: m erely the go-to person
for hum drum operational issues.
Chart 12: attributes CIOs strongly believe were needed to get
them where they are today
31%
Int ernat ional assignment s
41% Degree and t raining in business
administ rat ion and management
42%
Experience in anot her business funct ion
49%
Degree and t raining in IT
49%
Career moves in dif ferent companies
62% Involvement in suppor t ing major
business project s
86%
Mot ivat ion and hard work
Help innovat e
Future CIO s w ill need to be able to show proactively how IT can be
used as a source of innovation w ithin the business, rather than
m erely a support function. N aturally, a part of this w ill be securing
the chance to support a m ajor business project of som e kind,
w hich can, in turn, m ake a speci c im pact on how the rest of the
business operates. Sixty-tw o percent of CIO s felt that their
involvem ent in a project of this kind w as a key factor in their rise to
the top. The value of this is clear: once business leaders start to
recognize an IT leader as som eone w ho can transform the w ay
they operate their business, perceptions can quickly start to shift
and the candidate can be view ed in a new light.
Clearly, the m ost challenging, interesting and rew arding part of
the role is the transform ational aspect,says H DFC CIO A nil
Jaggia. But its also very risky, because if you do a large project,
not everything w ill go right. Transform ational projects are
obviously w here the joy is and also w here the grief is.
O ne exam ple com es from Bayer, w here IT has helped to develop a
new m eans of gaining sales feedback from the thousands of sm all
rural agricultural dealers in India w ho sell its crop products. Given
that alm ost none of these dealerships are online or technology
literate, the IT team helped develop an of ine m eans of gathering
sales data. This involved sim ple barcodes that could be peeled off
any product being sold and stuck onto a box or sales list. Then,
every few days, Bayer sends team s out on m otorbikes to visit each
dealer, and take a picture of the barcode to send to the com panys
data processing facility w irelessly. A s a result, w e can now
segm ent India better. W e know w hat sells, and in w hat quantities,
and so on. Its very sim ple, but technology is enabling it,explains
Daniel H artert.
Such ideas do m uch to endear up-and-com ing IT professionals to
other business leaders. This creates new opportunities for aspiring
CIO s to gain a vital invitation to the m eetings that m atter. O ur job
is to engage people on w hat the value of technology can be to
enable their business,says Philip Proost. Beyond this, giving
practical suggestions for how IT can be used to innovate and
im prove the com panys underlying business m odel can be very
pow erful.
Gain experience in new areas
There are also other elem ents required to m ake the step up,
although m any CIO s do not yet appear to recognize these. For
exam ple, the need for gaining experience in other parts of the
business w as repeatedly recognized as valuable by leading CIO s
interview ed for the report, but w asnt as strongly em phasized by
those surveyed. EDFs Ferrari, for exam ple, cites his background in
all areas of the business, from distribution through to operations,
and experience at a range of levels of seniority.
To som e degree, such view s vary by the candidates speci c
backgrounds. For exam ple, CIO s w ho put the m ost stock on their
technical background and expertise w ere m ore likely to recognize
the need for such experience elsew here in the business: 57%
ranked this as a high priority, as opposed to 48% overall.
A ll of this points to the need to avoid being the IT person w ho grew
up solely w ithin the dom ain of the IT function. Ernst & Youngs
M ichel Savoie is em phatic on this point. Diversify your career. Do
other things. Go run businesses. M ove to an em erging m arket and
run the business there. H ave P&L responsibility,he advises.
Think global
A nother background that relatively few CIO s em phasize is the
chance to gain experience outside of their hom e country, as part of
their overall professional developm ent. In an increasingly globalized
m arketplace, w here m any com panies operate m ulticultural team s
spanning tim e zones, cultures, languages and backgrounds, m ore
CIO s need to recognize the im portance of such experience. A t Gulf
N ew s, for exam ple, Edw ard Capaldi highlights the diversity of the
team he leads: Ive got Christians, M uslim s, H indus. Ive got
Indians, Jordanians, South A m ericans, A fricans, Irish, Palestinians
and A lgerians. Its a very, very broad m ix, w hich pushes us to think
openly and collectively bringing to the table unique traits w hich
ultim ately result in m ore effective decision m aking.
A lthough not all com panies m ay be this diverse, the ability to
operate in a m ulti-cultural environm ent is steadily becom ing m ore
im portant. Esprits Thom as Pirlein highlights cultural
understanding and a better sense of how decisions are m ade in
different regions of the w orld as key. In general, the need for
internationalityas he term s it: They look for w hether youve
w orked abroad, or at least have a lot of projects in other
countries.
I consider international experience to be very, very useful. It just
opens up your m ind,says BBs Peter Lenz. H e spent about three
years w orking in N orth A m erica, on a transfer w ithin his previous
com pany, before relocating back to Europe. H e view s this as a key
part of his developm ent. I think the ability to adapt to your
counterparts is w hat you learn w hen you have experiences in
m ultiple com panies, nations and cultures. A nd you need to have
this skill to be a CIO .
A role model CIO?
The CIOs and C-suite executives we interviewed for this
report all had insights to share on what constitutes the
essential ingredients of a leading CIO. These are:
A well-rounded skillset , wit h a clear balance of bot h
technology skills and soft skills
Condent , wit h a proven ability to communicate well at an
execut ive level
St rong experience of init iat ing and delivering change
management project s
A clear ability to t ranslate nancial informat ion into
meaningful insight s
Exposure to t he rest of t he business, wit h experience
elsewhere in t he organizat ion; ideally also wider experience
of t he overall indust ry
St rong vendor management skills, wit h good cont ract ual
and negot iat ing skills
Wide experience of different cult ures and working
environment s and conversant in more t han one language
A solid appreciat ion of wider t alent management issues,
including succession planning, skills and t alent development
and diversity
O ur job is to engage people on w hat
the value of technology can be to
enable their business.

Philip Proost, CIO , Catlin
What are the main CIO recruitment trends youve seen over the
past ve years?
I think the dem ands of the CIO role are constantly changing to
re ect the challenges, the com plexity and the speed at w hich
decisions now have to be m ade. The CIO is no longer just seen as
the provider of infrastructure and a key problem solver. The IT role
rem ains inw ard looking, as before, but m any m ore CEO s w ho
discuss these roles w ith us are now looking for co-drivers of their
business. They also w ant som eone w ho is a guardian of their
business m odels, looking out for threats and then developing
counterm easures.
What are the typical skills and attributes that CEOs are putting
on the CIO checklist?
Ef ciency, productivity and cost sensitivity are taken for granted.
The true expectations of CEO s relate to the strategic orientation of
the candidate, and a good m arket and business understanding.
They need som eone w ho sees the evolving possibilities from a
technology perspective and understands how these trends and
developm ents can have an in uence on their core business, and
vice versa. They then need the underlying leadership and
com m unication skills, so that they can engage w ith the relevant
stakeholders w ithin the business. They need to be able to in uence
the rest of the business, w hich is som ething that is quite often
lacking. Functional com petencies are still im portant, but its
increasingly acknow ledged that the CIO s team has to provide
these, rather than necessarily the individual. Beyond all functional
capabilities, though, this person rst and forem ost needs to be a
m arket-oriented strategic change leader.
How easy is it to nd such candidates in the market?
They are very hard to nd. It depends on the expectations of a
given com pany, but the m ost advanced CEO s, w ho fully understand
w hat the CIO can do, are really challenging us. They are seeking
people w ho hold deep technical expertise, but at the sam e tim e are
real business people. But, unfortunately, there are not m any CIO s
w ho have seen any other function or segm ent of a business during
their career, because they are traditionally still groom ed w ithin the
technology area.
Are companies willing to invest appropriately in such
candidates?
It depends a little bit on the team and the acknow ledged
im portance of the function for their future developm ent, but som e
are. But com panies that do so get good people because there are
not too m any around. The ones w ho are up there absolutely know
their price. O f course, the scarcity of this type of m odern CIO is
driving up the price. A s a result, m any CIO s are now getting
rem uneration packages that exceed w hat w as seen in prior years
and m atch their peers in the C-suite.
If you were advising a young person who aspires to be a CIO,
what would you tell them?
I w ould probably tell them to do a bachelors degree in a technical
dom ain, so they get a good basic grounding. Then go into business
for tw o or three years, probably in the IT function, before doing an
M BA . Follow ing this, they should acknow ledge the value of gaining
experience in various areas in the organization, but w ithout losing
their grounding w ithin the IT function. They need to get an
understanding of other parts of the business. The best-quali ed
CIO s are those w ho have strategic change experience, along w ith
exposure to the m arketing and strategy side of the business.
Egon Zehnder has co-developed a CIO of the Future
competency model. Can a CIOs personality really be captured
in this way?
N o, of course not. But this type of m odel offers a highly objective
view of their strengths. It basically groups com petencies into three
categories: reactive, active and proactive. Reactive behavior
patterns, such as responding to custom er dem ands and providing
support, are positive, but are also m ainly found at a junior
m anagem ent level. Senior IT executives, on the other hand, tend to
dem onstrate active com petencies, such as anticipating future
trends and achieving goals. O utstanding leaders are proactive
strategic thinkers w ho m ake a long-range organizational im pact.
U ltim ately, how ever, personalities are m ore com plex than the
param eters of any m odel, and it is alw ays im portant to consider not
only a candidates track record, but also their potential.
What kinds of competencies does the model suggest are
particularly important for CIOs to have?
It is very dif cult to generalize here, and our m odel m erely serves
as an assessm ent fram ew ork. It suggests, how ever, that
outstanding CIO s have com petencies that are rem arkably sim ilar to
those of top CEO s. In other w ords, they are business leaders w ith
clear strategic insights w ho can leverage IT investm ents to boost a
com panys bottom line.
Based in H am burg, Magnus Graf Lambsdorff focuses on the areas of
telecom services, digital business m odels and private equity.
Hunting down the best talent a recruitment perspective
Magnus Graf Lambsdorff, Partner at Egon Zehnder International, a global executive search rm , gives his perspective on w hat chief
executives are typically looking for in their search for CIO s.
The rst 100 days as CIO
From working with our clients, and from across interviews for this report, we believe there are some critical principles to help
a new CIO to make the best impact in their rst 100 days in the role.
1. Expect the unexpected
The role you signed up for m ight not be the one that w as sold at the interview. You m ay nd that the reality of the issues facing
you is of a different m agnitude and nature than described. The com plexity of the underlying IT system s and processes; the w ay IT
is perceived w ithin the business; the depth of skills w ithin the team the reality m ay not m atch your expectations. H ow ever, prior
to taking of ce, it is im portant to do your due diligence, understand the role and begin to identify the key issues that you w ill
inherit.
2. Listen well, and ask the stupid questions
There are advantages and disadvantages of being appointed internally or externally. A n existing know ledge of the business, ability
to leverage existing netw orks and inherent know ledge of system s, people and processes are som e of the advantages of an internal
appointm ent. H ow ever, the advantages of an external placem ent include no previous history to im pair initial credibility, the ability
to m ore easily com m and the changeand the opportunity to ask the stupid questions. A n external appointm ent is the platform
to ask the straightforw ard questions that can throw light on fundam ental issues that have previously been overlooked. A key part
of this involves listening carefully and reading betw een the lines to pick up on potential issues.
3. Make friends, network and inuence people
N ot alw ays the natural dom ain of the CIO , there m ay w ell have been a relationship de cit from the prior candidate. It is im portant
to prioritize the relationships that w ill be critical to your future success and start understanding w hat colleagues expect of you.
Clearly, the key relationships encom pass the traditional CEO , CO O and CFO trium virate. But you should netw ork w ith all the m ajor
divisional heads youll be supporting. Taking key stakeholders to lunch to gain an understanding of their approach and interests
can be a useful step to break the ice and gain som e insights into their needs. Given that your rst 100 days m ay feel a little lonely,
you m ay also w ant to identify a m entor to guide you and act as an independent con dant.
4. Get your team behind you
Spend tim e up front in understanding your team s issues, responsibilities and com petencies. Identify w ho you can rely on to
support you w ith the detail, so you can focus on the bigger picture.
5. Act promptly
A new placem ent is often a rare opportunity to im plem ent necessary change quickly. Change w ill be expected from you, so you
have a w indow of opportunity w here you w ill be given a relatively free rein to act. There is a clear distinction betw een starting the
role in a crisis situation and in one that is m ore stable. W here a m ajor business transform ation is required, there is a certain
expectation that signi cant change w ill be m ade early on, w hich w ill require rapid attention. In a stable environm ent, w here the
business is already perform ing w ell, you need to start building up a vision of w here it needs to go next to rem ain com petitive. You
have 100 days to listen and learn, but then the honeym oon period w ill be over and action w ill be expected.
6. Make your mark
It is im perative that you put your individual stam p on the strategy of the organization. This is clearly guided to som e extent by the
circum stances you inherit. A n external recruit w ill need to focus on im m ersing them selves in the business and rapidly
understanding how it m akes m oney. If joining from another sector, you w ill w ant to quickly becom e fam iliar w ith any sector-
speci c issues to show you understand the pressures faced. W hether m oving into the position as an internal or external
appointee, a key to m aking an early m ark is to identify and tackle the quick w ins.
Final word: CIOs, seize the initiative!
CIOs wit h an eye on t he C-suit e who are looking t o
reposit ion t hemselves wit hin t he business, can get
t hemselves off t o a good st art in a perhaps
unexpect ed way: going for lunch. Topping t he list of
t hings t hat CIOs ought t o do t o gain promot ion is t o
net work and build relat ionships (72%). Many of t he
CIOs int erviewed for t his report argue t hat invit ing
import ant fut ure cont act s t o lunch, or breakfast , is
as good a way as any t o nurt ure relat ionships.
Chart 13: what CIOs believe they need to do to achieve the
next step in their career
35% Could use some advice on
career progression
36% Gain experience at
anot her company
48% Gain experience in anot her
business funct ion
48%
Gain int ernat ional experience
54% Manage a major business
t ransformat ion program
72% Build relat ionships and t rust wit h
int ernal st akeholders
This is seen as especially crucial by those CIO s w ho feel in greatest
need of input on their career developm ent strategy. This
underscores the fact that m any of these CIO s feel largely isolated
w ithin the con nes of the IT function. N inety percent of those w ho
felt they needed greater career advice cited relationships as a high
priority, far m ore than those w ho felt m ore secure about their
career strategy (62%). Energa CIO Rom an Dudzik talks of m aking
a bridgew ith the rest of the business, w hich in turn helps IT
professionals get invited to the m eetings from w hich they w ere
previously excluded. But clearly this requires an investm ent of
tim e: Its not som ething you can do from one day to another. You
need to build these relationships over tim e,he says.
N aturally, this assum es that the operational basics are all taken
care of, w hich Catlin CIO Philip Proost describes as the
foundational w ork.U ntil CIO s can m ove out of re- ghting m ode
on the operational front, there is little prospect of the door
opening to m ore strategic w ork. Ernst & Youngs Benoit Laclau
characterizes this as a question of tim ing and breaks the process
dow n into a staged sequence. First, ensure that the operational
basics are m astered, then focus on relationships, before looking to
w here the value can be added. The danger is that you go and
spend all of your tim e m eeting everybody, but then they sim ply
describe their basic operational problem s to you. Its very dif cult
to talk about value creation w hen the PCs in the call center arent
w orking, or the chief executives printer fails.
37
Sticking ones hand up for the big projects and then delivering
them holds the biggest potential for gaining the m ost rew ard and
recognition, but also the biggest risks. If you show that you can
m aster those things, and that you can m ake a difference and stand
strong in the w ind, w hile everything around you is shaking, then
this becom es visible to others. People then increasingly believe
that you are ready for bigger responsibilities,says Bayer CIO
Daniel H artert.
The question for CIO s is w hether theyve got the courage to stand
up and take on the challenge.
38
Age
7%
31%
34%
24%
2%
1%
6069 years
5059 years
4049 years
3039 years
1829 years
Don' t know
Demographics
A unique community
O ur survey of 301 senior IT professionals and a further 25
in-depth interview s w as draw n from a broad group of CIO s,
representing countries across Europe, N orth A m erica, A sia, Latin
A m erica, A ustralia and South A frica. A ll respondents w ere
ultim ately responsible for the IT function in their organizations.
In addition, w e also surveyed 40 C-suite executives w ho w ere not
from w ithin the IT function, to gain their perspectives on the role
of the CIO .
The follow ing charts show the characteristics of the CIO s and those
of the com panies that both the CIO s and the other C-suite
respondents represent.
Gender
Female
4%
Male
96%
Surveyed CIOs
38
Highest qualication
PhD
2%
2%
MBA 10%
Mast er' s degree in IT
Science and Engineer ing degr ee
Ot her
Dont know
Bachelor' s degree in Business
Admininist rat ion and Management
Mast er' s degree in Business
Administ rat ion and Management
Bachelor' s degree in IT
23%
6%
15%
13%
15%
26%
(M ultiple answ ers)
Nationality
Mexican 11%
American 7%
Aust ralian 5%
Indian 7%
Chinese 13%
Russian 10%
German 15%
Spanish 5%
French 5%
Brit ish 5%
Ot her 2%
Sout h African 7%
Swiss 3%
Canadian 4%
Board membership
Yes
17%
No
83%
Time in current role
7%
33%
26%
11%
22%
1%
Less t han 1 year
13 years
46 years
79 years
10 years and more
Don' t know
J ob title
CIO C-suite
30%
ChieI Executive CIhcer (CEC)
40%
ChieI Financial CIhcer (CFC)
18%
ChieI Cperating CIhcer (CCC)
10%
ChieI Marketing CIhcer (CMC)
2%
Cther Csuite or stakeholder
49%
ChieI InIormation CIhcer (CIC)
41%
IT Director
3%
ChieI Technology CIhcer (CTC)
7%
IT Manager
Company of CIOs and C-suite
Global annual turnover
5%
15%
35%
13%
20%
5%
3%
4%
1%
US$50m t o US$64m
US$65m t o US$99m
US$100m t o US$499m
US$500m t o US$999m
US$1,000m t o US$4,999m
US$5,000m t o US$9,999m
US$10,000m t o US$19,999m
US$20,000m t o US$99,000m
US$100,000m and more
Worldwide number of employees
20%
13%
16%
9%
5%
17%
9%
9%
1%
Up t o 249 employees
250 t o 499 employees
500 t o 999 employees
1,000 t o 1,499 employees
50,000 and more employees
Location of headquarter
5%
4%
12%
6%
16%
6%
10%
9%
7%
5%
6% 6%
8%
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Sector
Consumer
product s
19%
Indust rial (aut omot ive
and t echnology)
15%
Indust rial (aut omot ive
and t echnology)
15%
Oil and gas
16%
Power and ut ilit ies
17%
Other (e.g., hnancial
ser vices, t elecoms)
16%
Life sciences (pharmaceut ical,
chemical, biot ech)
17%
The DNA of the CIO is t he rst of Ernst & Young insight s int o t he role of t he CIO
and what denes t his unique group of IT leaders. Our ongoing program will
address aspect s of personal int erest t o CIOs as t hey seek t o develop t hemselves
and t heir t eams, and learn from ot hers wit hin t heir communit y.
For furt her informat ion, please visit www.ey.com/dna-cio or speak t o your
Ernst & Young cont act .
This st udy is part of a series also including t he
DNA of the CFO and t he DNA of the COO offering
guidance for senior nance respect ively operat ions
leaders.
TheDNA of theCFO
A st udy of what makes
a chieI hnancial oIhcer
2010
TheDNA of theCOO
About Ernst & Young
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