More chairs around the C-suite table are occupied by executives with diversity, client satisfaction and customer experience responsibilities these days. But CIOs still have the ear of the CEO in organizations that put technology at the core of what they do.
The presence of new C-suite roles, such as chief diversity and inclusion officer, more than doubled in the past three years, LinkedIn research found.
Hiring of chief delivery officers grew 165%, and the appointment of chief people officers grew 144%. The company analyzed half a million C-suite positions on user profiles.
By contrast, CIO roles grew just 2% in each of the last three years, LinkedIn said in an email. In contrast, chief information technology officers and CISOs were two other roles experiencing sizable growth in recent years.
Increases in corporate appointments of diversity and people-focused roles reflect the impact of social movements and a historically tight job market, said George Anders, senior editor at-large at LinkedIn.
"The outsized hiring of roles like these meant titles that aren’t growing as quickly, such as CIOs, didn’t make our top 10 of C-Suite titles on the rise," Anders said.
Despite slower growth, CIOs continue to be present in large organizations. Most report directly to CEOs, serving as critical advisors on business strategy. CIO presence on the executive board can determine a company's ability to transform and seize market opportunities.
“As an outcome of the pandemic, CIOs around the world elevated their status, reputation and credibility with all of their C-level peers and their boss," said Janelle Hill, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, in an email. "Most now enjoy a ‘trusted partner,’ ‘strategic advisor’ or similar relationships with their CxO peers."
CIOs seat at the table
Simply appointing a CIO isn't a sign of true technology influence over business. It matters where the CIO sits in the governance structure.
Nearly half of CIOs report directly to a CEO, according to Gartner's 2023 CIO & Tech Executive Agenda report. About one-fifth operate under different reporting structures, while 16% of CIOs report to chief financial officers. A smaller percentage, 13%, report to chief operating officers.
Rather than presenting once or twice a year to the executive board or C-suite on technology investments, projects and plans, many CIOs sit at the table regularly, according to Hill.
"Their ‘seat the table’ may be as an advisor or as a consulted party to a decision. Some, but not all CIOs at the table, will have voting power or decision rights," Hill said.
The shift signals an ongoing pivot in what the CIO means to modern enterprises, compared to organizations two or three decades ago.
CIOs now spend more time interacting with external customers or partners, gaining insight from outward assessments, delivering information back to the enterprise and influencing decisions, said Stephanie Woerner, principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Director of MIT CISR.
"They're also expanding in terms of managing enterprise business capabilities," Woerner said. "Their roles are bigger. Data could be part of their role, or digital services, or they might have a profits and losses line associated with them."
As CIO oversight expands, revenue becomes a performance indicator among technologically advanced companies. Forrester projects 10% of CIOs to own specific revenue goals.
