Sore Point: Who Reports To Whom?

摘要

I hate to bring up a sore point … OK, maybe I don't. But I do hate to belabor the obvious. Unfortunately, what I've been mulling lately qualifies as an obvious sore point: To whom should the CIO report? The reason I bring it up is because of a conversation I had recently with the CIO of a midsize manufacturing company. When I asked him whom he reports to, a bemused smile crept across his face. "I report to the CFO," he said, "and damn glad of it." He explained that the company at which he works is family-owned, and when the founder retired his son replaced him as CEO. The son, according to this gentleman, "doesn't have a clue." On the other hand, the CFO is a tech-savvy executive who understands the importance of IT to the company's future growth. All things considered, this CIO thanks his lucky stars that he reports to the CFO.