In many companies, the CIO reports directly to the CEO, and in some companies, the CIO is part of the executive board. Typically, the CIO reports to the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief financial officer (CFO), or the director of operations (COO). With the advent of the Internet and the deep interconnection between marketing and IT, lately, the role of the CIO is beginning to depend on the marketing director (CMO) or, alternatively, the roles of the CIO and the CMO are merging to become that of digital director (CDO). Even in organizations where there is a chief digital officer (CDO) responsible for directing and executing the digital strategy, 74% of CIOs indicate that both the CDO and the CIO are accountable to the CEO.
The chief information officer is less dedicated to gathering covert information about espionage and more about being responsible for IT strategy. The daily operations of maintaining a computer system are generally the responsibility of a person known as the director of IT operations. In fact, IT managers who don't depend on the CEO can still be considered critical strategic business partners; they just have to use different levers to maximize influence in the organization and strategically improve IT. On many occasions, experts have predicted the decline of the role of CIO, for example, as CMOs gained influence and budget and, more recently, with the rise of chief digital officers (CDOs).
A chief information officer (CIO) is the company executive responsible for the management, implementation, and usability of computer and information technologies. The chief information officer, or CIO, is responsible for implementing IT strategies in a company's operations. A chief information officer (CIO) is responsible for the application of information technology and computer systems in a company.