What it takes to land a CIO gig in 2024

By all accounts, 2024 will be a good year on the CIO hiring front.

Global spending on technology is predicted to be up by virtually all forecasts. Most midsize and large organizations are spending significantly on cloud capabilities. Cybersecurity has been pegged as a top priority for funding in many industries. And nearly every company seems poised to adopt artificial intelligence in some fashion.

The result of all this tech activity is that organizations are putting great stock in their CIOs to be true strategic leaders — not just a member of the C-Suite, but one of its loudest voices.

Recruiting activity on the rise

A case in point is Thomas Licciardello, CIO and consultant at Northeast CIO’s. Having served in several CIO roles in the past, Licciardello now works in an advisory capacity, helping other organizations develop their own top IT leaders. Needless to say, he also gets his own fair share of job offers.

“2024 seems to be trending higher for CIO demand,” Licciardello says. “Sometimes I gauge that with how often I’m contacted by recruiters, and I have to say the last month it has been picking up. I have had more calls asking about my situation and openness to work in the last month than in the previous six months.”

Between the clients that he works with, and the recruiters that try to lure him directly, Licciardello says he has some clear thoughts on what organizations are looking for in a CIO hire in 2024.

“Empathy, emotional intelligence, accountability, collaboration, vision, and stability are key in my mind,” Licciardello stresses. “Other C-suite leaders are not looking for just a ‘keep the lights on supporter.’ They want someone who runs technology effectively but is also a driver and a thought partner. They want someone that can do both — keep a solid foundation to run operations, plus have an eye toward the future in order to build and transform the company. That takes balance, understanding, and partnership at all levels. These traits go a long way in achieving that.”

Key skills and experiences for landing a new CIO gig in 2024

As to the recruiting basics for CIOs in 2024, new candidates can expect a host of top trends vying for their attention.

According to Doug Wald, vice president of recruiting at executive recruiting firm North America Executive Alliance, AI and disruptive technologies, cybersecurity efficacies, regulatory compliances, data privacy, costs measures, technology talent, scaling infrastructure, transformations, and integrations are top of mind for employers seeking new top technology executives.

To assure potential employers that they can meet those diverse challenges, CIO candidates must demonstrate that they excel at a wide range of leadership skills and activities, Wald says, including the following:

• Communications: Today’s CIO candidates much demonstration an ability to engage and gain consensus from business and technical stakeholders.
• Data-driven mindset: Employers seeking new tech chiefs are targeting those who can use data to assess and evaluate key initiatives.
• Agility: Given the need to stay ahead of market events, behaviors, and disruptive trends, today’s CIO job market favors those who demonstrate flexibility and foresight, and can establish agile IT cultures.
• Fiscal responsibility: Despite increasing budgets, competing priorities — especially when factoring innovation versus operational excellence — requires today’s CIO candidates to demonstrate fiscal savvy.
• Customer experience: Having a lens into internal and external stakeholders, users, and consumers is vital for digital success, and CIO candidates with a customer-centric mindset are in demand.
• Technical vision: Planning, deploying, measuring, optimizing, and scaling for current and future state capacities is essential in today’s disruptive IT landscape. As a result, employers are keen to see demonstrated vision and results.
• Knowledge of IT governance principles: Buttoned-up operations are key, especially with regulations on the rise. Showing you know how to run a tight ship is important.  
• New technology acumen and foresight: The quick ascent of generative AI has highlighted the importance of establishing effective use cases and demonstrating effective decision-making on adoption of emerging technologies, wherever they might arrive in the enterprise.

Technology experiences wanted in new hires

In terms of specific technology experience, Licciardello says companies are clearly looking for IT leaders who have experience with AI, data analytics, and cloud computing. But he stresses you also can’t count out foundational CIOs — those with solid operations skills, but perhaps less versed in newer or disruptive technologies.

“I think this becomes a question of the industry, company size, and direction,” Licciardello explains. “In your entrepreneurial, niche market, startup companies will be going after that forward-thinking, innovative, born-in-the-cloud, data analytics– and AI-driven type business and technology risk-seeking expert.”

Those candidates may be slightly more common than unicorns. As a result, more traditional companies will look for solid experience in the basics: building teams, processes, and efficiency — “the more risk-averse type leaders, that are capable in moving the company forward in a predictable, but again stable, manner,” Licciardello explains. 

The down-low on pay expectations

Top IT leadership can expect a healthy pay rate in 2024, according to both Wald and Licciardello. Technology leader base compensations can vary from $175,000 to $500,000 and above, with discretionary bonuses paid out based on company and individual performance, as well as equity options, Wald says.

Depending on industry and company, Licciardello says he has seen the following pay trends for CIOs:

• Smaller organizations: $200,000 salary, plus bonus
• Midsize organizations: $250,000 to $300,000 salary, plus bonus
• Larger organizations: $350,000 salary, plus bonus

In the US, the best geographic markets to vie for top dollar salaries include the usual metro hubs, Wald says. These include San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Austin, and New York/New Jersey. Other top hubs are typically related to key industries. For example, Charlotte, N.C., is strong for finance tech; central New Jersey and Dallas/Fort Worth are strong for healthcare, communications, and utilities; and Miami shows robust pay for IT leaders in financial services, technology, and cryptocurrencies.

The personal traits that define high-demand IT leaders

As noted, CIO salary ranges depend largely on years of experience, industry experience and geographic market. But certain proven traits and accomplishments also help. Skills in leadership and collaboration, and the ability to inspire and motivate teams, foster collaboration, and build a strong company culture are among the key traits that are winning out over deep technical aptitude today, Licciardello says.

It also doesn’t hurt to have a degree from a top-tier university or graduate school. That can be a differentiator in this space, especially in highly competitive environments, Licciardello explains.

“For traditional companies, I think you will see a more balanced skillset,” Licciardello notes. “A combination of tech expertise and business acumen is crucial for understanding the needs of both the IT department and the broader organization. Someone who has vision and the ability to develop and execute a long-term technology strategy aligned with the company’s overall business goals is key.”

In terms of softer skills, strong communication, negotiation, and decision-making skills are essential for navigating the C-suite and influencing key stakeholders, Licciardello says, adding that the ability to build and maintain high-performing teams is also in demand.

Armed with these skills and traits, Licciardello recommends that newly-hired CIOs always do the ‘listening and learning tour.’

“Listen to what’s going well, and what’s not going so well,” Licciardello advises. “Ask questions. Ask for rationale on why something was done the way it was. I see many new hires assume things were done wrong without understanding the context or rationale behind the action. There is no better way to sour relationships in a new company if you make too many early or untested assumptions.”

One recently hired CIO that conducted the ‘listening and learning tour’ at her organization is Sandy Venugopal, at SentinelOne. Named CIO in April 2023, Venugopal says she especially enjoyed “getting to know the team, meeting some of our customers, and hearing about their experience with our product. Equally noteworthy has been learning about the exciting product roadmap that we have, and working with our new leaders and partners in marketing and sales.”

Key differentiator: A strong background in strategic actions and decisions

What Venugopal believes helped her stand out for this new role is her experience working at growth companies. Having an understanding of the challenges that fast growth can bring to processes, infrastructure, and applications not only helped Venugopal land the job, but also proved instrumental in her first months in the role.

“Having built and delivered strategies to scale the processes, systems, and teams to support international customers, expansion of product and services, and building out a global team are experiences I’ve drawn on for this role,” Venugopal explains. 

Her first nine months in the role have also served as “a reiteration of lessons I’ve learned,” including: 

• Understanding that passionate and talented employees are your No. 1 asset
• Having a clear vision that is well understood by the team will enable them to execute much more effectively 
• Having a culture that fosters and encourages strong collaboration — especially across various departments and time zones — is critical to success 

Beyond the mission set for her by SentinelOne, Venugopal has set a personal goal to “dig much deeper into the cybersecurity industry and learn about all the nuances, challenges, and opportunities in this space. I’m also excited to learn more about two regions where SentinelOne has a growing workforce: Prague and Costa Rica.” 

As to advice for landing a new CIO gig or earning that CIO promotion, Venugopal says “building your network and focusing on industries that you are passionate about and experienced in will be critical.”

“Building that muscle and incorporating it into your overall strategy — in addition to productivity, enablement, innovation, and efficiency — will be a key to success in landing and delivering in this role,” she says.

Licciardello concurs. Offering advice to those seeking new CIO roles, he says “being well balanced in the technology stack is important. When you have come up the ranks as a technologist and are exposed to operations, infrastructure, development, portfolio management, business analysis, data management, and cybersecurity — especially if you then lead all these teams — it creates a level of understanding of how all these parts and departments work together.”

Demonstrating to potential employers that “you can guide, mentor, and lead effectively with that level of experience and exposure” is critical in landing a CIO role today, Licciardello says.