Gartner sings praises of 'entrepreneurial' CIOs

Analyst warns that firms lacking an 'entrepreneurial CIO' are set to suffer financially

Entrepreneurial CIOs are willing to take risks to promote growth

An entrepreneurial chief information officer (CIO) will be the key to business success in the next two years, Gartner has claimed.

According to the analyst, by 2012, the companies with the top 25 per cent of earnings growth will have an entrepreneurial CIO.

Distinctive features of entrepreneurial CIOs, according to Gartner, is the proactive willingness and courage to take high-level risks, to provide new or breakaway competitive advantages that translate directly into revenue, financial results and market share.

It is this willingness to apply the highest level of creativity available within the organisation to do things in a fundamentally different way, Gartner claims, that establishes new sources of shareholder value, while also setting new levels for IT productivity. It comes with the understanding that the business may fail in the attempt, but also that it will surely fail or, at best, attain mediocre performance, if it does not act.

The primary focus of the entrepreneurial CIO is on new business impact, Gartner said, with this impact being felt in three ways: velocity of change, strategic leverage and extension, and operational efficiencies.

Jorge Lopez, vice president at Gartner, said: “One of the biggest dilemmas facing organisations is how chief executives and CIOs can execute entrepreneurial tasks in the current risk-averse environment.

“As shareholders see the recession recede in their day-to-day actions, they will drive for revenue and earnings growth, and they will expect chief executives and CIOs to perform to heightened expectations.”

Lopez advised firms to check that they have the right CIO for a return to growth. He said that the right combination of vision, risk-taking and persuasiveness is needed to fill the requirements for the job.