Crucial Conversations: How to Achieve CIO-CEO Alignment in the Era of AI
Crucial Conversations: How to Achieve CIO-CEO Alignment in the Era of AI
Intro from Mike Anderson
Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope
Key Findings for CIOs
A positive CEO-CIO partnership can drive the enterprise forward, making it faster,
smarter, and more competitive. A dysfunctional relationship that's rooted in
misaligned thinking, however, will only result in inertia.
Misalignment at the top
31% of CIOs aren't confident they know what their CEO really wants and 34% don't
feel empowered to make long-term strategic calls.
Modernization funding falling short
Only one in three CIOs (36%) think their business is investing enough in modernizing
their IT infrastructure. Two-fifths (41%) say their business isn't investing enough
(while 23% aren't sure).
Innovation disconnect
CEOs worry that their CIO is too eager to adopt emerging tech without fully weighing
costs or disruption. But CEOs are giving CIOs a double-edged innovation mandate:
Integrate AI to drive measurable business value, while also cutting costs and acting
as gatekeepers against overspending.
CEO & CIO Perspective
The dynamic between CEOs and CIOs is crucial for organizations precisely because of
tech's critical role at the heart of modern business.
The CIO commands a broad and wide-reaching view across a business's operations,
while also being hyper-focused and in possession of in-depth insights. These
combined perspectives are uniquely valuable to a CEO."
Kirk Ball - CIO, Worldpay
The more proactive, consistent, aligned and priority driven the CIO and their
teams are, the less "air gap" between IT and the business."
Paola Arbour, EVP and CIO, Tenet Healthcare
So what's a CIO to do?
The answer, for those IT and digital leaders who want to deliver a modernization
agenda that supports business growth, is to forge a more productive CEO relationship
grounded in clearer communication and shared perspectives.
CIOs must crack the code in three key areas:
- Better understand what CEOs really care about
- Know which conversations it is critical to have with the CEO
- Take the right approach to those discussions to drive optimal outcomes
Six Crucial Conversations
We've identified six crucial conversations that regularly take place between CEOs
and CIOs—the places where, metaphorically speaking, the rubber hits the road.
[The CIO] was our BS meter. Somebody would come in and want to charge us the sun
and moon. He'd go: 'Let's rewrite it this way, or give them a specific list of
things.'"
CEO, U.S., Apparel/Fashion
Conversation one:
Cost
The CEOs we spoke to admitted to a degree of uncertainty when it came to
scrutinizing and approving IT investment.
[The CIO] was our BS meter. Somebody would come in and want to charge us the sun
and moon. He'd go: 'Let's rewrite it this way, or give them a specific list of
things.'"
CEO, U.S., Apparel/Fashion
Conversation starter tip
Our current infrastructure limits our agility more than it enables it. I'd like
to walk you through a modernization path that creates more flexibility,
security, and cost control.
CEOs are typically focussed on the fundamentals. They can be disconnected from
the tech—and don't always know the right questions to ask."
Jim Clark, Strategic Insights Director, Econsultancy
Conversation two:
Risk
CEOs want a "trusted lieutenant" in their CIO. Someone who makes sensible decisions,
knows when to escalate and report emerging issues, and is aligned on shared goals.
Trust is currency. We must ensure our CEOs understand not just that we're
secure, but how security supports resilience, reputation, and regulatory
alignment."
Louise Leavey, CIO (financial services)
Innovations need to occur within the business's existing focus areas. It's the
job of the CIO to enable a safe, sound and secure environment to experiment and
innovate, but most importantly to also fail safely and capture learnings fast."
Pascal Boillat, former Group CIO, Commonwealth Bank and Deutsche Bank, and
currently COO, LSEG
Effective innovation always starts with a use case, rather than a technology."
Ian Golding, Chief Digital and AI Officer, TC Group
Conversation three:
Innovation
For some CEOs, "innovation" can be viewed as another word for "complexity," which
increases costs and raises risk levels.
Innovations need to occur within the business's existing focus areas. It's the
job of the CIO to enable a safe, sound and secure environment to experiment and
innovate, but most importantly to also fail safely and capture learnings fast."
Pascal Boillat, former Group CIO, Commonwealth Bank and Deutsche Bank, and
currently COO, LSEG
Effective innovation always starts with a use case, rather than a technology."
Ian Golding, Chief Digital and AI Officer, TC Group
CIOs and CHROs can form a powerful partnership in co-owning how AI integrates
into work, culture, and talent strategy. It's not just tech or people anymore;
it's both, intertwined."
Joe Topinka, founder and CEO, CIO Mentor
Conversation four:
People
CEOs want their CIO to take the lead in evaluating opportunities with AI to
understand where organizational efficiencies can be found that will materially
impact the Human Capital Plan.
CIOs and CHROs can form a powerful partnership in co-owning how AI integrates
into work, culture, and talent strategy. It's not just tech or people anymore;
it's both, intertwined."
Joe Topinka, founder and CEO, CIO Mentor
Conversation starter tip
As AI scales, we'll need a clear plan for where it creates capacity, where it
complements people, and where we need to reinvest in skills. Let's map that
together.
You have to be aligned with business metrics, because your relationship with the
CEO will be based on how relevant and impactful your function is."
David Smoley, former Global CIO, AstraZeneca and Flex
Conversation five:
Measurement
CEOs confess that their lack of technical knowledge makes measuring the performance
of the technology strategy difficult. This situation is only getting more
challenging with the pace of modern AI development.
You have to be aligned with business metrics, because your relationship with the
CEO will be based on how relevant and impactful your function is."
David Smoley, former Global CIO, AstraZeneca and Flex
The CIO is responsible for aligning the IT team's objectives with the business
objectives.
CEO, India, Pharma
At some point, aging systems pose unacceptable risks to the organization, and
you must decide when to invest in modernization. Ideally, you introduce a new
capability that also eliminates a legacy system."
Danyel Bischof-Forsyth, CIO, 7Brew
Bad news isn't like wine; it doesn't age well. The sooner we know, the sooner we
can respond."
Mike Anderson, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope
Conversation six:
The IT Estate
There's a sense among many CEOs that the IT function is a "black box" that they
don't understand. Sometimes they feel their CIO doesn't enable or allow them to peer
inside it, which can cause suspicion and frustration.
At some point, aging systems pose unacceptable risks to the organization, and
you must decide when to invest in modernization. Ideally, you introduce a new
capability that also eliminates a legacy system."
Danyel Bischof-Forsyth, CIO, 7Brew
Bad news isn't like wine; it doesn't age well. The sooner we know, the sooner we
can respond."
Mike Anderson, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope
The Last Word
Across the six crucial conversations, you will learn how to engage in a more
effective and influential dialogue with your organization's leadership.
- Speak the language of business value
- De-risk and gatekeep innovation
- Lead with credibility, clarity and candor
- Drive transformation that's AI-powered and people-centric
The
last
word
Let's get started!
Crucial Conversations: How to Achieve
CIO-CEO Alignment in the Era of AI was created to provide IT leaders with
tangible and practical advice that will help structure more effective discussions
with their CEO. Download the full report to level up your conversations and
relationship with your CEO.
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