From Tony Stark to Iron Man: Building tomorrow's IT chief

IT roles are attracting more 'outsiders'

Natalie Whittlesey, director at recruitment specialist Harvey Nash, suggests there is increased evidence to support the theory that more people are entering senior IT roles from the rest of the business. One explanation for the transfer of workers between functions is the changing nature of procurement, which is affecting both the role of the CIO and the day-to-day management of technology.

The cloud gives line-of-business employees the power to purchase systems and services on-demand. An increased reliance on third parties means most organisations have a reduced need for a traditional IT director who simply buys, implements and runs technology. Yet the increased use of external service provision does not have to sound a death knell for the CIO.

The new generation of smart IT leaders will focus on engagement and delegate responsibility for internal matters to their trusted deputies. Some of these concerns might be more technical in nature, such as enterprise architecture. Other areas, such as account management, will be business-focused.

The interesting point is that increased use of the cloud means more people are being exposed to IT across organisational functions. And for outward-facing CIOs, this exposure creates a potential source of IT management talent.

Such people are already in evidence.

Richard Norris, head of IT and business change at Reliance Mutual Insurance Limited, has transformed technology since joining the firm in late 2014. He appointed four senior managers for the key functional areas of the technology department, namely portfolio management, quality assurance, service assurance and solution design. Norris says the approach allowed him to go to the market and introduce some new IT and business skills to his team.

glh's chief technology officer upgraded his IT team to manage internal and supplier relationships

Chris Hewertson, chief technology officer at hotel chain glh, is another IT leader who has focused on transformation. The firm began its IT change programme three years ago and, today, 95 per cent of IT services are delivered through the cloud. Hewertson has promoted every member of his small, in-house team. These trusted deputies manage the relationship with internal business units and external partners.

Both executives represent strong examples of modern, engaged CIOs who honed their skills during a career in IT. What is even more intriguing, suggests BCS director of professionalism Adam Thilthorpe, is the extent to which many non-IT executives now see technology as a route to the top.

National Trust CIO Sarah Flannigan joined the charity in 2010 and assumed the role of CIO, her first IT leadership position. Flannigan’s former role was sales and marketing director for manufacturing specialist David Salisbury, having previously been employed as the firm’s operations director.

Spirax Sarco director Byron Thomas, meanwhile, has held senior management positions in finance and procurement at some of the world’s biggest organisations. He joined the engineering specialist as CIO with a brief to transform the technology organisation – and he says one of his key decisions was to appoint an IT manager, so he could focus on business transformation.

Such examples demonstrate how the role of technology, and the IT professional within the business, is in a state of flux. What remains constant, however, is that good management talent is always in demand – and this influx of new talent might help change perceptions of IT for the better. ®