What Does a Chief Information Officer (CIO) Do? A Complete Guide

Once a niche position responsible for overseeing centralized mainframes and data projects, the role of the chief information officer (CIO) has steadily grown and evolved alongside information technology. Following the explosive growth of IT at the beginning of the 21st century, the number of CIO positions has seen significant increases, reaching 574,000 jobs in 2024 and estimated to reach 685,000 jobs by 2033.

Today, CIOs are as much communicators, salespeople and influencers as they are managers. They are essential to ensuring organizations have a winning strategy to stay ahead of technology trends and achieve long-term goals. If you’re interested in any form of IT leadership, then this senior executive position may be a strong fit.

Here’s what you need to know about what a chief information officer does, how they differ from other executive positions and what a possible CIO career path looks like.

What Is a Chief Information Officer?

Traditionally, CIOs were primarily technical experts and were often seen as caretakers of the IT department, focused on infrastructure rather than strategy. However, as technology became central to nearly every aspect of business, modern CIOs increasingly were expected to oversee both the digital systems and the infrastructure that could empower teams to work collaboratively and efficiently within an agile organization.

As defined by the CIO Council, the role of the chief information officer is to enable an organization’s mission through the “effective use of information resources and information technology.”

Today, the CIO is recognized as the executive responsible for managing an organization’s IT strategy and operations. Specifics can vary between industries and continue to evolve over time, but essentially, the CIO focuses on aligning information technology systems with organizational strategy and ensuring they’re used effectively across the enterprise.

While the first CIOs were largely responsible for handling a few internal systems, in today’s digital-first environment, they take a wider view of the entire organization. They’re expected to take the lead in developing and implementing company-wide technology initiatives aligned with the chief executive officer’s vision and business goals. This includes adapting to and adopting emerging technologies, transforming legacy systems and ensuring that all IT solutions are scalable, secure and responsive to changing market demands.

Ultimately, the CIO ensures an organization remains technologically competitive.

Key Responsibilities of a CIO

The CIO drives the strategic vision of how an organization utilizes IT. McKinsey breaks this down into five distinct ways of driving value:

1. As business leaders, CIOs work with other organizational heads to understand their needs and goals. The idea is to understand the reality on the ground to better understand how IT initiatives will affect other business units.
2. As change agents, CIOs understand that, as IT constantly evolves, so too must the organization’s use of technology. To ensure digital transformations go as smoothly as possible and secure buy-in from everyone, the CIO knows how to link technology to efficiency and explain how it can achieve business goals.
3. As talent scouts, CIOs work to recruit and retain skilled leaders, managers and IT professionals. They understand how to build a culture and community that attracts external talent as much as it builds up internal talent.
4. As cultural drivers, CIOs foster collaboration across all departments. They understand that IT isn’t isolated to certain departments, but integral to daily operations for everyone in the organization. It’s their job to ensure that the business and technology sides work together, not in opposition.
5. As translators, CIOs are able to take complex IT solutions and sell them to other executives in a way that makes a clear case for investment and adoption.

All of these roles are in service of improving internal technologies, streamlining operations and automating complex processes, with the larger goal of making day-to-day tasks more efficient for every team member.

Specific responsibilities of a CIO will depend on an organization’s needs and their ability to collaborate with other executive leaders, such as chief technical officers, chief information security officers, chief risk officers or IT directors. General responsibilities can include:

• Providing executive leadership for all IT activities within an organization
• Building and leading high-performing IT teams
• Evaluating current IT capabilities to identify areas for improvement
• Leading digital transformation efforts to improve productivity, agility and customer experience
• Investing in AI solutions and ensuring they align with strategic business goals
• Developing strategies to build a resilient and adaptable IT team
• Promoting continuous learning and professional development, especially in high-demand IT areas
• Overseeing the annual and multi-year IT planning, programming and budgeting processes
• Collaborating with finance and executive leadership to ensure cost-effective use of resources
• Measuring return on investment (ROI) and ensuring projects deliver expected benefits
• Implementing governance models that promote accountability and transparency
• Maintaining a cybersecurity strategy that ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Ensuring the organization remains competitive in an evolving digital marketplace

CIO vs. Other Tech Leadership Roles

As part of the C-suite, the CIO frequently collaborates with other executives who lead specialized domains within the enterprise. While there is often some overlap in responsibilities, each role carries a distinct focus.

CIO vs. Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

While both roles are concerned with IT strategy and innovation, their focuses tend to differ and can vary based on company size and culture. In tech-centric or larger organizations, the CTO may play a more prominent public role to focus on how the organization can better serve its clients, while the CIO concentrates on internal matters such as enterprise-wide systems and digital transformation.

Main Differences:

• The CTO is typically more externally focused, overseeing the development and delivery of technology products or services offered to customers. They often drive product engineering, research and development and innovation for technology-driven offerings.
• The CIO focuses on internal IT infrastructure and systems—ensuring technology empowers employees, improves business operations, and aligns with organizational goals.

CIO vs. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Both roles share responsibility for information security, data governance and regulatory compliance. However, the CISO plays a highly specialized role in addressing information security. In many organizations, the CISO reports to the CIO, though in highly regulated industries or larger enterprises, the CISO may report directly to the CEO or Board of Directors.

Main Differences:

• The CISO is focused solely on information security strategy, risk assessment, threat response and cybersecurity policy enforcement.
• The CIO has a broader mandate, which may include supervising the CISO. The CIO ensures security is integrated into all technology initiatives but must also balance innovation, operations and resource management.

CIO vs. IT Director

The IT director is more hands-on with the day-to-day IT operations and typically reports directly to the CIO. IT directors coordinate with the CIO to manage the technology infrastructure that supports business operations. This partnership ensures the effective implementation of systems and services.

Main Differences:

• The IT director is more operational, managing IT functions, supervising technical staff and ensuring the network, hardware and software are running smoothly.
• The CIO operates at a strategic level, defining the vision and roadmap for how IT will support long-term business goals.

CIO vs. Chief Innovation Officer (CINO)

While both roles are future-oriented, the CINO is often less involved in IT operations and takes a broader view on all possible areas of research, experimentation and cultural transformation. The CIO and CINO may collaborate on digital transformation projects, emerging technologies and process improvements.

Main Differences:

• The CINO is focused on driving innovation and creating new opportunities across all departments. They identify and nurture new ideas, technologies and business models to advance product development, marketing and partnerships.
• The CIO is accountable for executing the CINO’s vision with IT systems and infrastructure, ensuring the organization’s digital capabilities are not only ahead of the curve, but also secure, scalable and efficient.

CIO vs. Chief Risk Officer (CRO)

The CRO is focused entirely on mitigating all possible risks to the organization, while the CIO is concerned largely with risks related to technology, data and compliance. The CIO supports the CRO by ensuring that systems are resilient and secure.

Difference:

• The CRO oversees the organization’s entire risk management framework, covering areas such as financial, operational, reputational, regulatory and strategic risk. Their concerns include everything from talent retention and business continuity to failure to innovate.
• The CIO focuses on entirely technology-related risks, with the goal of ensuring secure and reliable IT services and supporting business continuity through robust systems and policies.

Day in the Life of a CIO

While no two days are exactly the same, most CIOs will follow a structured routine that addresses strategic priorities and operational demands. A typical day blends technology oversight and people management, collaborating with other managers to achieve short- and long-term business goals.

Here’s an example of how a CIO may approach their day and the tools and resources they may utilize.

Chief Information Officer Career Path

Becoming a chief information officer is the result of years of technical experience and leadership development. While there’s no single route to the C-suite, most CIOs follow a trajectory that combines hands-on IT roles, progressive leadership positions and a commitment to lifelong learning.

You can think of the career progression as happening in four stages:

Earning Foundational Experience in IT or Information Management

Most CIOs begin their careers with a bachelor’s degree in a technical or business-related field, such as computer science, information systems, engineering or business administration with an IT focus.

They typically start in hands-on or support-based IT roles, including:

1. Systems analyst – analyzing and improving business IT systems
2. Network administrator – managing and securing enterprise networks
3. IT support specialist – solving end-user tech issues and deploying hardware/software
4. IT consultant – advising organizations on systems integration and optimizations and best practices

Mid-Level Roles with Growing Project and People Responsibility

As professionals gain experience, they often pursue certifications to deepen their expertise and take on larger responsibilities. Relevant certifications for aspiring CIOs include:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
• Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

Common job mid-level job titles at this stage include:

• Project manager — leading cross-functional tech project
• Infrastructure manager — overseeing network/server architecture
• Applications manager — handling enterprise software systems

Senior IT Leadership and Strategy

As they develop a track record of delivering results and leading teams, professionals often advance to senior leadership roles such as IT manager, director of information technology or IT director. All of these roles involve senior-level leadership tasks, such as:

• Strategic planning
• Budget oversight
• Vendor and stakeholder management
• Cybersecurity risk mitigation
• Team leadership and development

By this level, many professionals have either attained or will pursue a graduate degree, such as the Master of Science in Information Technology Leadership (MS-ITL), to gain formal training in leadership, digital strategy and enterprise management.

Executive IT Leadership – Becoming the CIO

After years of progressively larger leadership responsibilities, professionals can step into the CIO role when they can shift their focus to enterprise-wide influence. At this stage, they become a key player in shaping business innovation, risk strategy and organizational culture.

Success in the CIO role requires a well-rounded set of technical and leadership skills that includes business, communication and strategy.

What Does a CIO Earn?

Like most other top executives, CIOs command a respectable salary. However, actual take-home earnings can vary greatly depending on industry, company size and level of experience.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the salary range for top executives between less than $73,710 for the lowest 10% and more than $239,200 for the highest 10%. As executives, CIOs often receive additional forms of compensation, such as performance bonuses, stock options and profit-sharing.

The latest estimates* for CIO pay include:

• $310K to $373K from Salary.com
• $244K to $425K from Glassdoor

*Salary values were retrieved in March 2026

Career Outlook for CIOs

The CIO position enjoys a strong growth potential for the immediate future. That’s largely because CIOs are central to organizational success, and their visibility in the C-suite has never been higher.

• As businesses face economic uncertainty and rising operational costs, CIOs are expected to optimize technology spend, improve agility and deliver greater value with fewer resources.

• In the age of e-commerce and digital customer engagement, CIOs play a direct role in enabling revenue growth, not just supporting it.

• The rise in cybersecurity threats means the CIO will continue to be a key defender of enterprise trust and resilience.

As for what the future holds, it’s guaranteed that the CIO role will continue to evolve over time. We can’t quite predict how it will change, but expect something along these lines:

• CIOs will continue to move away from managing systems and toward being more strategic business leaders, responsible for driving revenue growth, improving customer experiences and aligning IT with enterprise goals.

• The CIO’s role as a translator of technology will become even more important as emerging technologies such as agentic AI, blockchain and edge computing become popularized high-impact solutions.

• As data becomes more central to efficient operations, CIOs will be at the forefront of cultural shifts toward data-driven decision-making. They’ll need to be experts in championing data literacy, governance and integration across all departments.

How to Become a CIO

Becoming a CIO doesn’t happen overnight, but with strategic intent, cross-functional knowledge and strong leadership habits, it’s a highly rewarding and achievable goal. Consider the following advice and suggested best practices for how you can build a career path to chief information officer.

1. Build a Strong Technical and Strategic Foundation Through Education

Start with a bachelor’s degree in a technology-related field that will help you understand how systems work and how they support business operations. Prioritize majors such as:

• Computer science
• Information systems
• IT management
• Network or database administration

Then, continue to advance your education with a master’s degree that deepens your leadership and business knowledge within IT. Look for programs that blend technical fluency with organizational leadership and strategic thinking. Consider programs such as:

• A master of science in IT leadership 
• An MBA with an IT or digital transformation focus
• A specialized master’s in cybersecurity or data analytics
  

2. Earn Certifications that Validate Your Skills and Help You Stay Competitive

Professional certifications enhance your credibility and demonstrate your readiness for executive responsibilities. They can also highlight your specialized skills and elevate you over other job applicants. In addition to the PMP, CISA, CGEIT and ITIL degree mentioned above, consider pursuing:

• The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) to validate your advanced knowledge in information security
• Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCIO), which is a specialized credential that signals readiness for the CIO role
• Cloud Architect Certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), which are becoming more essential as more enterprises transition to cloud infrastructure
  

3. Build Broad and Deep Career Experience

To become a successful CIO, aim for both technical depth and cross-functional breadth. Throughout your professional career, look for opportunities to gain hands-on IT experience in roles such as:

• Systems analyst
• Network or database administrator
• IT consultant
• Project or product manager

These roles help you build a technical base and learn how to manage complex systems and people. Then, apply for leadership roles where you’ll be responsible for budget management, organizational leadership and executive decision-making. Prioritize positions such as:

• IT manager
• Director of information technology
• Enterprise architect
• VP of IT or digital transformation
  

4. Broaden Your Business and Cultural Competence

To lead at the executive level, you’ll have to understand more than just IT. You must know how the entire business functions and how to support it with technology. To learn the business:

• Get exposure to finance, supply chain, HR and marketing functions
• Collaborate with department heads to understand their workflows and pain points
• Participate in enterprise-wide initiatives (such as ERP implementations and digital transformation projects)

To develop cultural and organizational awareness, make an effort to:

• Understand workplace culture, team dynamics and employee experience
• Develop emotional intelligence, inclusive leadership and stakeholder management skills
• Build trust across departments by speaking in plain terms, not just tech jargon
  

5. Stay Curious and Stay Informed on Emerging Trends and Innovations

The best CIOs are forward-thinking. To stay competitive, you should stay curious:

• Follow developments in AI/ML, cybersecurity, cloud computing and automation
• Subscribe to industry thought leadership (including Gartner, McKinsey and Forrester)
• Attend IT leadership summits or digital innovation forums
• Network with other IT leaders to share insights and best practices

FAQs

Whether your goal is to become a CIO or to collaborate closely with one, recognizing the scope, responsibilities and influence of the role will help you better position yourself in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. It’s no longer enough to be technically proficient—you must also develop strategic thinking, communication skills and a deep understanding of how technology drives business outcomes. 

The Master of Science in Information Technology Leadership (MS-ITL) at USD prepares aspiring leaders with these very capabilities, helping professionals move from managing IT systems to shaping the future of organizations through technology.

Looking to take the next step in your IT career?

Be sure to ask the right questions before choosing a degree program!

Start the process on the right foot by downloading the free eBook
9 Questions to Ask Before Selecting an Information Technology Leadership Master’s Degree.