CIOs - not bean counters - our future leaders, says Lastminute.com CEO

The boss of Lastminute.com has pointed to a bright future for those who have headed the IT function within businesses - though big changes in approach must still be made.

Ian McCaig, Lastminute.com CEO, told delegates at The Economist's CIO and IT Directors' Summit in London: "At good companies the CIO has an equal seat at the decision-making table and that's how it should be. And out of that comes responsibility."

Given that set-up - and it's still a rare one, across all sectors - as the purveyor of all information across an organisation, CIOs can find themselves in a strong position to progress further.

He said: "In the 21st century I would argue there's a greater chance of getting a great CEO from the CIO community than from the CFO [community]."

In the past quarter of a century it has been common for big companies to appoint their next CEO by promoting the CFO, who also has a total view of any business.

McCaig said progress for the top tech role is all about equal participation in businesses and accountability.

But he also had a warning for those in attendance. "Unless your CIO is a great leader [staff with great technology skills] will find an excuse to go somewhere else," he said.

He also let slip an ace he keeps up his sleeve to get the best out of his IT department, perhaps not allowing them to pull the wool over his eyes - he was once an employee of ICL, where he was a Unix programmer.

He added: "I don't want any of the IT guys to know I know something about technology."