In the past 10 years, a lot has changed for the men and women tasked with overseeing insurance companies' technology operations. Today insurance CIOs are responsible for a lot more than just "keeping the lights on." Increasingly, CIOs sit at the same table as their business partners to discuss overall corporate strategy and vision.
Further, as the Internet and mobile technologies have proliferated in the popular realm, customers' and business partners' technology expectations have grown. As a result, insurers need Web functionality — and security — to remain competitive, and the CIO is leading the way.
Perhaps more important than looking back, though, is looking forward. What challenges will insurance CIOs of the next 10 years face? How will the role change? We asked this year's Elite 8 honorees to draw on their experience to answer the question: "What will the CIO job be 10 years from now?"
Charles Cornelio
In some ways the CIO role of the future will require many of the same things it requires today to be successful. An effective CIO reports directly to the CEO and has a seat on the senior management committee. This position gives the CIO the ability to play an integral role in visioning and setting strategic direction. The CIO will continue to focus on how technology can help business units deliver top-line growth and bottom-line profitability.
One key difference in the future CIO role is that, 10 years from now, many CIOs will have a business background. They'll be focused primarily on strategy and information, regardless of how technology serves up the information or enables the execution of strategy. Information will be more important than ever before as better business decisions are based on data, and more-meaningful customer relationships are fueled by customer intelligence.
Talent management will also have evolved over the next 10 years as a critical focus area for CIOs. It's going to take more than just anticipating the changing needs of the organization and attracting top talent to ensure long-term success — CIOs have to focus on retaining top talent and helping them grow with the organization.
John Golden
The CIO role will expand over the next 10 years to take on additional responsibility outside of IT, including transformation of operations as well as executive oversight for changing a company's operating model. Keys to success include:
Credibility: Consistent delivery, maximizing the return on IT investments and providing stable, available operating environments are table stakes. Building credibility also includes developing a deep knowledge of the business to provide leadership with possible improvement processes and demonstrate how technology can make processes and resources more productive. To gain credibility, a CIO needs a mix of business acumen and technical/operational skills.
Vision: Beyond having the vision of where to lead the company, a CIO will need to create followership within the organization to successfully bring the vision to fulfillment.
Influence: Without the CIO's ability to influence peers — based on what he or she brings to the table and the IT team's expertise — the company will not obtain a viable solution for the identified challenge/opportunity.
Communication: Communication skills are a basic requirement at all levels in the organization, but they are particularly critical for an IT leader. One key to success is the ability to speak in succinct business terms without sounding like a professional with a technology-exclusive background. Business leaders need to hear in their terms why technology is important for success.
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