Business has never needed IT leadership more than it does in today's unsteady economy. CIOs must deliver vision and value, innovation and results. They must stay on top of technology-driven trends and help their organizations understand their impact on business models, products and processes. To do that effectively, they must influence and sometimes exhort. On top of all that, they must execute flawlessly. This is one demanding job.

To understand what kind of leadership it takes to excel as a CIO, look no further than the 12 extraordinary men and women of the 2008 CIO Hall of Fame. The lifetime achievements of this year's inductees continue to have a profound influence on the profession. As individuals, they have provided strategic direction and creative thinking, exhibited a deep understanding of business and technology, created competitive advantage for their organizations and inspired future IT leaders. As a group, their achievements have advanced the CIO role. Read on to learn more about their accomplishments, and why we chose them to enter the CIO Hall of Fame.

We profile the efforts of one inductee in this issue (see "Building IT for the Future"). We'll highlight others in future issues in the year ahead.