Study Highlights What Separates CIOs from CEOs

News Flash: Certain behavioral qualities, such as the ability to tolerate uncertainty and to make quick decisions under pressure, are what separate the CIOs who become COOs and CEOs from the CIOs who don’t, according to new research from executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International.  The seven page report provides an overview of the behavioral differences between CIOs, CEOs and COOs and describes the specific behaviors that CIOs must possess or learn to move up the executive latter.  For example, if CIOs wish to become COO or CEO, they have to learn to be more decisive more quickly under-pressure and keep their tendency toward “what-if” thinking at bay, according to the report. Also, CIOs need to demonstrate more self-confidence and ambition if they want to move into those roles.  Interested readers can find the report at Korn/Ferry’s web site or on CIO.com.  I read the entire report in about 10 minutes and can tell you it’s certainly worth 10 minutes.  (Plus, it includes an insightful quote from Dennis Jones, the one-time CIO of FedEx who became COO of Commerce One.) 

And now for more news about CIOs…

Raj Datt (pictured at left) was recently promoted to vice president and CIO of Panasonic Automotive Systems having joined the company from GE in December 2004.  His promotion recognizes the contributions he’s made to Panasonic Automotive Systems’ business by implementing lean manufacturing and Six Sigma practices and by leading the company’s supply chain management transformation.  There’s a profile of Datt in the October issue of Silicon India.

Here’s a promotion that took place in August that I missed at the time: John Cupparo was promoted from vice president of information technology to CIO at PacifiCorp, a utility based in Portland, Ore.  In his new role, he will chair PacifiCorp’s Information Technology Executive Committee, which is responsible for performing commercial, financial and technical due diligence on big technology investments the company undertakes.  When Cupparo joined PacifiCorp in 2000, he was responsible for trading and risk management systems.  Before PacifiCorp, he worked for Texaco and Koch Industries in Houston, Texas.  Cupparo graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in computer information systems and has completed executive level programs at UPenn Wharton.

Retail Week magazine reports that Warner Music Group hired Maggie Miller, the former CIO of British grocery store chain Sainsbury’s, as its CIO.

Terry Newson joined FuturePlus Financial Services, a financial services firm based in Sydney, Australia, as its CIO.  He most recently served as CEO of the Stevedoring Employees Retirement Fund and currently chairs the Fund Executives Association.