Where do CIOs go from here?

PANJIM, GOA: In a penultimate session on CIO's future career path, Shyam Malhotra, editor-in-chief, and executive director, CyberMedia set the perfect mood for the discussion by showing some inspirational videos that highlight the distinct gene of catalysts.

The question was tough. 'What's happening to a CIO's career next?' And the intent was clear. Make them rethink on the very word 'career' by igniting their minds with the power of a catalyst.

"Let's first define what career means to us. And it varies from person to person. For someone it's money, for someone, position, status, etc. For some, working on newer technologies and applying them in meaningful ways. Technology is a great tool, if it gets the scale along with it," he said.

And then he posed some questions to the CIO fraternity. Am I using technology at best scale? Am I stuck? Am I adding any value? Can I influence the strategic sections of the company? Do I have the ability to convert data to information and influence the course of organization? Do I have the right people skills?

"If yes, then career is progressing," he asserted.

Do all marketing managers become CEOs?, asked Shyam. It's not just about becoming a CEO but about learning new technologies and making an impact, he said as he swiveled the topic in an interesting direction.

Moderator Venkat Iyer, from Star TV, took the 'same role vs job' road. "Why do CIOs go to work? For me, I will go to work where I have fun, enjoy my work, and if I make money, it's good. In every company I worked, I learnt something, gave back something and then when I stopped enjoying it, I moved on."

The panel agreed that lateral or vertical movement doesn't matter. As Atul Kumar from Ispat Industries said, "No matter where, as a CIO, you continue to do the same thing. The difference is the significance you get out of it."

The panel also touched upon the debate of line functions Vs staff functions. Here Iyer advised to get involved in some customer-facing functions.

"Trust me, it's not easy to put your feet in a sales guy's shoes. It helps you to understand your customer. And unless you do that, you can never become a good CEO," he added.

And, of course, the good old question wandered in the air and stimulated minds again "Can a CIO be a CEO?"

Following this panel came the ending keynote by Rohtash Mal, executive director and CEO, Agri Machinery Group, Escorts, on 'Innovate, Inspire, Transform: Touchstones for Tomorrow', where he talked about how tomorrow would be all about how strategy aligns itself to the fluid nature of environment, it would be about making 'growth' a verb, creating an innovation factory, focusing on experiences, and redefining the 'Wow' factor.

Talking of 'wow', with three days of an unending platter of knowledge, experience-sharing, soft-skill orientation, technology dives and actionable networking, C-Change has done it yet again.

See you soon next year!