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CEOs "clueless" about CIOs
CIO Forum: What headhunters want from an IT chief...

By Gemma Simpson

Published: Tuesday 16 October 2007

Most chief executives are "clueless" when searching for CIOs, according to the headhunters trying to find the best CIO talent.

Cathy Holley, partner at headhunting company Boyden, said of CEOs: "If they are looking for a finance director they would probably know exactly what they are looking for, if they are looking for a sales and marketing director they'd probably know what they are looking for. When they are looking for a CIO - generally speaking - most of them are clueless."

Holley added: "And they are clueless from the point of view that they have never seen a great CIO or they have seen a great CIO but can't articulate what it was about them that's really great."

But CIOs aren't perfect either with most failing to create a satisfactory CV, according to the headhunters.

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Also speaking at the CIO Forum, Vicky Maxwell Davies, partner at Boyden, said it is "rarely the case" that the best CIOs have the best CVs - despite it being "the most important business document you will produce".

And technological skills are the last thing a headhunter will search for on a CV - with Maxwell Davies and Holley agreeing that teamworking, personal branding and enthusiasm are key ingredients.

Holley added: "Technology is not why we are hiring you at this level. If you can only answer the IT questions then you should really not be sitting around the board table [because] the board table is for people that can contribute to absolutely every aspect of running that company."