Ross Meyercord by no means got down to make the leap from expertise chief to CEO, however a set of intentional and opportunistic profession selections delivered the breadth of enterprise expertise and management abilities required to land the job.

Meyercord parlayed an engineering diploma right into a two-decade consulting monitor at Accenture, the place a deal with large-scale transformation initiatives opened the door to the worldwide CIO position at Salesforce throughout its important income progress interval. Logging hours with Salesforce prospects left Meyercord well-positioned to department out into gross sales management on the SaaS big adopted by a stint at Pluralsight, the place he served as chief income officer.

With a full spectrum of govt management roles below his belt and with encouragement from his peer community, Meyercord determined he was primed to vie for a high publish. “That’s when it moved from being opportunistic to very purposeful,” says Meyercord, who after a seek for the fitting match took over the CEO reins final November at Propel Software program, a SaaS supplier of engineering and product administration software program. “I didn’t go into the CIO position considering it was a stepping stone; nevertheless, as soon as I used to be there, I noticed it as a chance to study the enterprise from the within out in a manner that’s onerous to duplicate in some other useful management position.”

Propel Software program

The CIO-to-CEO profession path — as soon as unthinkable or at greatest, unlikely — is going on increasingly more. Large-scale digital transformation has positioned expertise as the middle piece of firms’ revenue-generation methods, each as basis for delivering and servicing merchandise and because the major touchpoint for buyer engagement. The shift to distant and hybrid work accelerated firms’ dependence on expertise as a core enterprise technique and finally, a driver for aggressive differentiation. The continued modifications have forged CIOs on the frontlines of enterprise — not simply in a technical capability, however taking up plus-size management roles. In accordance with the 2023 State of the CIO, CIOs are extra concerned in main digital transformation initiatives in comparison with enterprise leaders (84%), function change brokers (85%), have income duties (68%), and accomplice carefully with the CEO and board of administrators (77%).

The increasing remit has elevated CIO stature throughout the group and delivered a set of management abilities and experiences extra carefully aligned with what’s required for the CEO.

“The unique CIOs within the Eighties had little or no overlap in talent units with the CEO — they had been technical, again workplace centered, and never market-facing roles,” explains Neal Pattern, a board member of a number of firms and a veteran CxO. “As IT has advanced to turn out to be extra business-centric and client dealing with, the abilities which might be necessary for a great CIO overlap with what’s required for a great CEO.”

Neal Pattern

A transferable talent set

Meyercord would definitely make that case. His years in consulting offered wealthy enterprise context, and his Saleforce CIO tenure helped sharpen management, communications, and disaster administration abilities, to not point out indoctrination into the significance of buyer centricity. Meyercord participated in upwards of 100 buyer gross sales calls annually and obtained a crash course in inner buyer satisfaction by way of a Salesforce program that inspired workers to freely air grievances, regardless of how small. This apply opened up a fireplace hose of IT-related complaints that Meyercord mentioned would make him escape in a chilly sweat worrying about what would possibly want fixing every day.

“The train taught me how one can take a customer-first mindset to rethink your personal operation and repair supply to drive totally different outcomes,” he explains. “That has served me extremely nicely.”

At present’s CIOs play extra of a basic supervisor position, Meyercord provides, with IT leaders centered not simply on crafting nice IT structure and technique, but in addition on hiring, constructing, and nurturing groups, understanding the funds of the division, and placing out fires on an ongoing foundation. This reinterpretation of the position and the brand new competencies it nurtures proceed to shut the hole between what’s required to be efficient as CIO or CEO.

“CIOs are sometimes coping with a three-ring circus, and their potential to context shift, prioritize, and maintain issues transferring alongside in an orderly style are abilities which might be extremely transferable to the CEO position,” Meyercord contends. “The issues are totally different, however the talent set of triaging between long-term and short-term issues is vital.”

The CIO position can be fertile floor to construct negotiation and partnership acumen — each important for efficient CEO stewardship. Know-how leaders must function with monetary self-discipline and develop rigor for managing by way of affect, notes Pattern. For instance, tech leaders typically aren’t the choice makers, relatively make suggestions to enterprise companions that personal the price range whereas negotiating with programs integrators or different third events. The 2023 State of the CIO underscored that time, with greater than half (55%) of IT chief respondents confirming they proactively determine enterprise alternatives and make expertise and supplier choice suggestions.

Sharon Kennedy Vickers mentioned her four-plus years as CIO for the Metropolis of St. Paul, Minn., was instrumental in making ready her to take the CEO leap, notably because it pertains to growing sturdy management and folks abilities. As a metropolis authorities CIO, an enormous a part of the job was dedicated to growing groups, managing relationships with friends, and understanding what it takes to serve individuals locally — all proficiencies now central to Kennedy Vickers’ newest position as CEO of Software program for Good. The software program company locations expertise to work with cities, public sector, and company purchasers on all points of digital enterprise, together with software program engineering, product technique, UX design, and expertise assessments. The widespread thread is purchasers centered on initiatives which have a optimistic social affect, Kennedy Vickers says.

Software program for Good

Kennedy Vickers says her time as CIO helped develop an understanding of the enterprise in a manner not potential with comparable govt roles. “As CIO, you get a broad view of the enterprise whereas different senior leaders are centered on their very own explicit vertical,” she explains. “Having the ability to tie digital technique to the imaginative and prescient of the group and ship and execute with a stage of precision and excellence in relation to expertise — these are very transferable abilities to function CEO.”

Changing into CEO was not one thing Kennedy Vickers ever envisioned, but a collection of well being challenges shifted her focus to hunt out work higher aligned to her core values and goal. When the Software program for Good alternative got here round, Kennedy Vickers jumped on the probability, with the data that this subsequent chapter wouldn’t be possible with out the experiences gleaned from the CIO monitor.

“This was not one thing I used to be trying to do — it was one thing that discovered me,” she says. “However all of the issues I discovered as a CIO ready me to have the ability to tackle this position.” 

Stepping as much as the massive seat 

Whereas the trendy CIO is growing abilities and expertise carefully mapped to the highest spot, not each CIO desires or is minimize out to make the transition. For Kevin Hart, CEO was all the time the purpose, and he took a really premediated path, knowledgeable by a one-page profession map of five-year increments created in highschool and up to date all through the years. Hart leveraged CIO, CISO, CTO, and consulting positions to speed up his trajectory and was named CEO of Segra, a fiber networking firm, final yr. There have been loads of private sacrifices made alongside the way in which, together with transferring his household over 20 instances all through the course of his profession.

Kevin T. Hart / Segra

For would-be CIO-to-CEO candidates, Hart and his counterparts present a actuality test earlier than making the leap:

The complexity of the massive chair is exponentially increased. Being the top of the tech area is multifaceted and complicated, however the complexity quotient for CEOs is an order of magnitude increased. Elements of the job seem comparable, however the scale of choices, authority, and interactions range extensively and are greater and broader in scope, Hart says.

Like CIOs and CTOs, CEOs are on name 24/7, however the nature of conditions requiring their intervention is drastically totally different, which may be energizing for some IT leaders and draining for others. There’s a fixed must make powerful selections about technique, progress, price chopping, and innovation so discovering mentors to make use of as a sounding board is a good approach to make sure clear considering, he provides.

“When the rubber hits the highway, the choice comes right down to you as CEO whereas within the CIO position, you usually have six or seven different C-level individuals with nice opinions and also you’re simply making an attempt to average and discover center floor,” Hart says.

Political savvy is required. CIOs are accustomed to coping with a number of stakeholders, however as CEO, the mandate is extra expansive, together with engagement with buyers, prospects, companions, and doubtlessly, politicians, relying on the business and regulatory necessities.

“You might have a much wider panorama of stakeholders as CEO since you go from inner to exterior,” Hart says. “Engaged on these abilities and turning into comfy in these settings is necessary for these making an attempt to arrange for the following stage.”

Domesticate an urge for food for danger. CIOs and even CIO-plus executives commit plenty of time to serving to the group handle danger, whether or not that’s making certain applications are accomplished on time or on price range or following by way of on an initiative to economize or hit income targets. However that’s totally different than a CEO who must be prepared and in a position to take and handle danger on their very own. “It’s the distinction between being a danger supervisor and danger taker,” Pattern says. “It’s important to develop belief with the enterprise and have the private confidence to set course, not take course.”

Aggressive hearth is a should. Hart credit his early athletic background and time spent as a participant as a motivator all through his profession. “The high-tech business in the USA and globally is likely one of the best sports activities on the planet,” he says. “That requires aggressive hearth — staying in your toes, considering forward, difficult your self and your groups, and specializing in profitable, no matter meaning in your context.”

Pattern advocates for a “take a look at and study” strategy to get to the following stage, whether or not the purpose is the CEO seat or one other CIO plus-size position. Taking a board place, working an innovation middle, or constructing a digital-first product are stable avenues for enlargement. “There are plenty of methods so as to add extra to your plate to function a proof level that you just’re prepared for extra,” he says. “Ask and do extra, carry out excellently at these alternatives, and if all goes nicely, you’re a great candidate. If not, take a step again, work out what’s not working, and transfer ahead.”