Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are having to learn new skills as the modern workplace redefines their role and responsibilities new research warned.

As risk managers gathered to discuss the current major threat to business at the Airmic annual conference in Birmingham, new analysis from  executive search specialist, La Fosse Executive, revealed how the role of the CIO has shifted over the last decade – finding that strategic responsibilities have ‘quietly doubled’ over the last ten years.

Reviewing previous 10 years of CIO job description data, La Fosse Executive’s, CIO & CTO search partner,  Dominic Bosher said the research had identified a clear evolution in the CIO remit, from infrastructure and systems management to value creation and innovation leadership.

“As organisations fast-track digital transformation and AI adoption, CIOs are increasingly expected to act as organisation-wide leaders, influencing commercial outcomes, risk strategy and long-term competitiveness,” Bosher explained. “Boards are now relying on CIOs not only for technology oversight, but for judgement in uncertainty and leadership across complex change programmes. The CIO has become one of the most important roles in any organisation, driving resilience, competitiveness and long-term success as technology continues to shape every part of the business.”

La Fosse’s investigation discovered several significant shifts in the evolution of a CIO’s role and responsibilities in 2026, compared to that of a decade ago.

Where the CIO role was once primarily focused on managing infrastructure, systems, and day-to-day technology operations, it now extends into board-level leadership and operational performance, while also shaping culture, customer experience, and long-term business strategy:

• 63% of CIOs now report directly to the CEO, up from 38% a decade ago
• 72% of CIOs are actively involved in business model innovation
• 37% of a CIO’s responsibilities now surround strategy and business, compared to just 25% 10 years ago
• Prominence of risk and resilience responsibilities have doubled in the past decade, from 10% to 20% of overall workload

The company said the findings underline a fundamental shift in expectations, with CIOs now operating as strategic partners at board level instead of the operational, siloed role they once held.

Bosher added: “As technology becomes embedded across every part of the organisation, CIOs are now expected to lead across multiple dimensions of business performance.

“What stands out in the analysis is how expectations have expanded. CIOs are now being asked to shape business models, guide risk decisions, and lead cultural change, often all at once. That requires a completely different leadership profile to the CIO of ten years ago.”

He identified eight capabilities that define high-performing CIOs in modern organisations:

1. Technology foresight: anticipating and leveraging AI, data and cyber capabilities to drive growth and resilience
2. People and culture leadership: building digital fluency and embedding innovation across the organisation
3. Risk management: balancing cyber, regulatory and geopolitical risk with commercial opportunity
4. Stakeholder communication: translating complex technology decisions into clear business language at board level
5. Customer centricity: shaping digital platforms that improve experience and competitive positioning
6. Strategic influence: embedding technology into company-wide strategy and decision-making
7. Ambiguity tolerance: leading effectively in uncertain, fast-changing environments
8. Commercial acumen: linking technology investment directly to revenue, ROI and business performance

“The expectations placed on CIOs in 2026 look very different to traditional listings,” Bosher continued.“ What stands out most is the breadth of the new remit. CIOs are expected to move seamlessly between strategy and execution, and between long-term vision and immediate operational pressure. That requires a combination of commercial judgement, stakeholder influence, and comfort with uncertainty that many traditional leadership profiles were not traditionally built for.

“Today, the best CIOs are commercial leaders who can connect technology decisions directly to business outcomes, while guiding organisations through constant change and uncertainty. Boards that hire with this broader profile in mind are far better positioned to unlock value and build resilience for the future.”