* Christian & Timbers "State of the CIO" study
A report from executive recruiter Christian & Timbers shows that CIOs are becoming sought after again. According to the firm’s “State of the CIO” study, CIO search requests from Fortune 1000 companies increased 20% during the second and third quarters of 2003. Christian & Timbers forecasts CIO search requests to increase another 20% through 2005.
“The increase in CIO search requests is attributable to an emerging market shift,” says Robert Voth, co-director of Christian & Timbers’ CIO practice. “Over the last 12 months, many CIOs have begun to move their focus from maintenance and cost-cutting mode to initiating strategic projects that now must produce reasonable ROI within a six-month time frame.”
Employers need to prepare for CIOs to be in the driver’s seat of an employee market, the study advises. “We recommend companies provide CIOs corporate-wide support for IT investment across the enterprise and allow the CIO to report to a C-level executive, but preferably not the CFO, as a ‘non-strategic’ market stigma still exists when companies have their CIOs report to the holder of the financial purse strings,” Voth says.
And speaking of finances, the “State of the CIO” report projects the average CIO salary for the first quarter of 2004 to hit $224,985 in mid- to large-cap companies. What’s more, CIOs will bring home an average bonus of $107,708.
Christian & Timbers examined salaries of CIOs, CTOs, Vice Presidents of Technology, and vice presidents of IT in 68 companies as part of the report. Here’s some anecdotal compensation data:
* The CIO of a $275 million software vendor received a 15% pay increase, a $40,000 signing bonus, and a large stock option package to move to a $300 million subsidiary of a $1.5 billion software company.
* A CIO of a $55 billion company will bring in $400,000 this year plus a bonus target of 200%.
* The CTO of a $26 billion firm will earn $320,000 with a bonus target of 40%.
* The CIO of a $780 million polymers company will receive $145,000 in salary with a bonus target of $29,000.
For more information about Christian & Timbers, go to www.ctnet.com
