Why The CIO Should Be On The Board Of Directors

No single executive has more visibility across more business processes than the CIO. It’s time for companies to recognize the importance of this position, says Network Computing editor Rob Preston.

In the latest survey on the tortured subject of aligning IT with business strategy, 46 percent of 2,000 senior executives told recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International that CIOs "absolutely" have a role to play on a company’s board of directors. What’s startling about this finding isn’t the fact that almost half the execs think CIOs have the experience, expertise, comportment and intelligence to shape a company’s future. It’s that more than half are less than sure.

The Korn/Ferry survey follows a study last year by Burson-Marsteller which found that only 5 percent of more than 3,000 companies it researched actually had a CIO on their boards. A quick look today at the boards of the 10 largest companies in the world reveals no IT execs on their boards, though No. 1 Wal-Mart has a prominent technology venture capitalist, while No. 5 General Motors, No. 6 Daimler-Chrysler and No. 8 Ford have current or former tech vendor CEOs on their boards.

Going Up?

By Rob Preston
Network Computing

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