* Resources to help you move from directing IT strategy to running the entire corporation
A recent report from executive recruiter Christian & Timbers shows that the percentage of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies doubled between 2001 and 2006. There were five female CEOs in 2001, and when PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi assumes the reins this month, there will be 11. Most of them hold positions in “pink collar” industries of food or retail.
A recent report from executive recruiter Christian & Timbers shows that the percentage of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies doubled between 2001 and 2006. There were five female CEOs in 2001, and when PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi assumes the reins this month, there will be 11. Most of them hold positions in “pink collar” industries of food or retail.
What may be of particular interest to IT leaders who aspire to hold the corner office is that only three of the 11 current female CEOs work in the IT/computer equipment sector, as compared 2001 when it was two out of the five. The glass ceiling seems to still exist for major tech companies, finance firms and big industrials, as well as for CIOs with ambitions of becoming CEOs someday.
To be sure, some have made it happen. For example, Progressive Insurance CIO Glenn Renwick managed various business units before becoming CEO, while former Walgreen CIO David Bernauer sat in the COO chair before assuming the CEO title. Likewise, Martin Feinstein, former CIO of Farmer’s Insurance, later took the reins as that company’s CEO before retiring last year.
If your own goals include moving from directing IT strategy to running the entire corporation, there are a few resources that can help. First, my colleague Linda Leung awhile back asked business leaders with IT backgrounds to share advice on how to get there.
Second, Cara Cunningham Garretson recently wrote about the leaps former IT leaders made into other areas of the business. Finally, executive recruiter Korn Ferry offers, for free download, a look at the behavioral differences between CIOs, COOs and CEOs as a means to understand what it takes to transition beyond the CIO role. You can find the paper here.
