CIOs have no ambitions to climb corporate ladder

Few IT directors have ambitions to climb the corporate ladder and move into other executive positions in the future, according to a survey conducted on board this year's IT Directors' Forum (ITDF).

Almost 250 IT directors and CIOs on board the Aurora cruise liner for the ITDF in May this year were asked by silicon.com what role they saw themselves doing in the future.

The results show that most CIOs feel they have climbed as high on the corporate ladder as they want to go with two-thirds (66 per cent) saying they still see themselves as an IT director or CIO in the future.

Just five per cent expressed any ambition to become a CEO but there is further evidence of a shift towards IT bosses taking on a wider operational remit with 12 per cent saying they see themselves as a COO or other general business executive.

The remainder indicated they would move into the IT supplier or consultancy industry with 10 per cent saying they plan to become an independent consultant and one per cent hoping to move to an IT vendor.

The final six per cent simply indicated they hope to move to "other" roles.

Part of the reason for this apparent lack of ambition may be that CIOs believe their power, influence and remit within the business is actually on the increase.

Almost three-quarters of the same ITDF delegates said in response to another question posed by silicon.com that the CEO and finance director are increasingly handing over more power and control to CIOs - providing they prove themselves up to the job.

One respondent said: "The role has increased in importance as organisations become increasingly dependent on IT. However, those filling the roles have not necessarily moved with the times, which has resulted in other executives becoming more IT aware."