The accidental CIO is disappearing, and that might be a problem
Executive Take
Certifications and tidy career ladders are producing technical specialists, not enterprise leaders ready for the CIO seat. Companies must deliberately rotate high-potential tech leaders through P&L ownership, M&A, and board exposure instead of waiting for broad experience to happen by chance.
Executive Summary
An opinion piece argues that CIOs who rose through unplanned, messy career paths gained broad business skills that structured tech career tracks no longer build. It cites CIO.com's 2025 State of the CIO research (81% of IT leaders call themselves change makers) and Deloitte data (80% say roles expanded, 65% of CIOs report to the CEO) to show the job now demands P&L and board skills beyond technical expertise.
Why It Matters
HR and CHRO leaders building tech leadership pipelines need to rethink succession plans that rely on certifications instead of real cross-functional ownership. CTOs and CIOs should flag the same gap in their own successor planning before it becomes a hiring crisis.