In 2008 there were two flavours of C-level technology leader - a permanent CIO or CTO and the second was the interim CIO/CTO. Consultants, at that time, were non-permanent staff and rarely at the C-level. This is a slight simplification of the landscape. Today, the distinction between interim C-suite executives and consultants is more nuanced, and for very good reason. Permanent and as-required tech executives have reshaped. So is there still a place for the interim CIO? Or, is change management pace and scale such that a new breed of supporting actor steps in to help organisations change their narrative?
According to research by recruiter Harvey Nash and consultant KPMG, six out of ten (61%) CIOs report that IT leaders are more influential as a result of the crisis. The question for many is what they will do with their new-found authority, and whether they can hold on to it.
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Lily Haake, head of the CIO Practice at Harvey Nash, says the increased influence of CIOs in 2020 is in sharp contrast to the response of boards to technology in the wake of the last major global shock – the great recession in 2008. Back then, the influence of the CIO dropped.