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The Future: Aspirations Abound
Mike Easley is the CIO of Home Quality Management, a private long-term care company in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with estimated revenue of $184 million. He's one part technologist, one part accountant -- and all business. "It's why I love my job," Easley says. "I am expected to know every facet of the business and understand operations." Asked which skill CIOs of the future need most, Easley is quick to answer: "Accounting. You already see more CIOs with MBAs. I think you'll see a stronger accounting track in our field."
Easley says he's among the CIOs whose careers are changing as the industry undergoes a shift. "The role is transforming every year, and I find my peers are transforming. You're going to see the CIO becoming more of a global business driver and less of an information officer."
Survey results show IT executives primed for that challenge. Two-thirds want to stay in their current role or move up in IT or within their organization. Short-term aspirations differ slightly among those at the lower and higher ends of the midmarket: Respondents at companies with revenue of $50 million to $500 million most frequently say they want to continue in their current role (about one-third). Among respondents from organizations with $500 million to $2 billion in revenue, the most popular answer was to move up within their company. Overall, the top priority among 18% is to move to a larger company.
Yet when asked open-ended questions about their ideal next role, respondents' answers spanned broader ground. Roughly 40% want to be CIOs, and many specified doing so in a larger organization, at a different organization, or at one that's technologically backward and needs a digital knight to ride in on a pixilated horse. There are those who aspire to become CEO (10%) or attain another business title: COO, VP, GM, head of sales. Some dream of alternate careers as a pilot, a professor, or an operator of a bed and breakfast hosting corporate retreats in Maine.
And besides those who say they already have their dream job are those quietly asking for the respect they deserve. "A boss who knows business and IT well and is willing to accept opinions from others," writes one respondent. "A company that values IT's role in making business profitable," says another. "CIO for my current company," says one IT director who notes, "I already hold the highest IT position but would like the recognition."
METHODOLOGY: CIO Decisions conducted the first annual CIO Decisions Midmarket Salary Careers and Survey among qualified subscribers in February and March 2006. The 457 respondents completed an electronic questionnaire consisting of 30 multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Among respondents, 28% were CIOs, 13% were vice presidents of IT, 46% were IT directors, and 13% had other titles. Respondents with multiple titles that include a CIO title (such as CIO and vice president or senior vice president) were grouped into the CIO category. All responses tabulated came from individuals at organizations with $50 million to $2 billion in annual revenue or operating budget. The margin of error for data with 457 responses is + or - 4.5%, with a 95% confidence level. Some figures may not total 100% due to rounding.
CREDITS: This section was reported and written by Tom Kaneshige, Stefanie McCann and Ellen O'Brien. Data analysis by Anne McCrory. To comment on this story, write to editor@ciodecisions.com.
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