Since proper IT skills and talent are so crucial to developing companies, it best suits businesses to keep an eye out for the latest tech-savvy additions to their c-level staff. Both the role of new technology and the responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) have changed in recent years, leaving companies in a position where anticipating the future strategies for filling the CIO position is vital to longevity.
Clint Boulton discusses CIO succession planning in an article for CIO, in which he notes the tension between incumbent Information Officers and their possible replacements. As he describes, companies trying to think ahead can put themselves in a bind: many CIOs react poorly to onboarding strategies that involve "grooming a replacement," and in most cases, businesses have no strategy for succession at all.
Filling a CIO role can differ from searching for other types of executive staff, especially given the combination of tech knowledge and leadership skills needed for success. In a separate interview with CIO this month, Bloomin' Brands CIO Donagh Herlihy describes the relationship that a CIO must have with marketing, a newer development that has affected the duties of the position.
"A CIO's relationship with marketing takes work," Herlihy says. "If as CIO, you are not credible with marketing and close to the customer, it will be tough to move into a digital leadership role. Your executive committee has to be thinking, 'This person has a real understanding of the customer and has revenue generating ideas.'"
As a part of successful CIO succession planning for your business, you can tap an executive search firm to develop a workable strategy for finding the best possible future CIO candidates for you.
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