A panel discussion at the Crimson Innovation Conference 2018 discussed why CIOs will focus more on achieving company objectives rather than delving deep into the technical specifications of new business systems in 2018.
The IT jobs market panel was made-up of Louise Clarke, Head of Recruitment at Crimson, Mark Lockton-Goddard, Interim CIO at Fidessa PLC, and Caisha Sheikh who is a senior appointments head-hunter within Crimson’s IT recruitment agency. The panel was chaired by Rob Grimsey, Group Director of Marketing for Harvey Nash.
Mark, who has held technology leader positions at big four consultancies like PwC and major listed companies like Michael Page, said that in the roles he has fulfilled he focused on how technologies would achieve the desired corporate outcomes rather than on the technical intricacies of the solutions. He concentrates on senior stakeholder management and overarching strategy, and relies on the expertise of his technical teams to ensure that all solutions are fit for purpose.
You can see and hear Mark’s views via this video that was taken on the day:
The panel and the audience were then asked the question ‘Compared to five years ago, is the CIO more or less important to your organisation?’ 73% of the audience responded that CIOs had become more important and only 9% said their CIO’s role had stayed the same.
Louise answered that in her view the importance of the role hadn’t necessarily changed. She used the analogy of a ship, explaining that the CIOs responsibilities always have been, during her 20-year career in IT recruitment, to keep an organisation steady, keep it heading in the right direction, battle with the elements (uncontrollable factors from the external environment), and make sure the crew are fed (keep the core staff happy). She said it was massively important for CIOs to drive innovation and inspiration in organisations in 2018, but she suggested that this had been the state of play for some time.
Watch Louise’s views in this short clip from the conference.
When asked ‘What can IT leaders do to get on a head-hunter’s radar?’, Caisha said that CIOs need to elevate their personal online brands by regularly updating their LinkedIn profiles with relevant content and emphasising their core skills and specialisms.
Caisha runs intimate career workshops for CIOs in which she analyses CVs and helps IT leaders optimise their career prospects. If you would like to find out more about these workshops, please visit www.crimson.co.uk/events.
Crimson is an IT consultancy, an IT solutions provider, an IT recruitment agency, and a Microsoft Gold Partner operating across the UK.
