Netskope: Why Is There a CEO and CIO Strategic Disconnect?

Effective decision-making and strategic alignment within a company’s leadership are heavily dependent on collaboration between the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

However, despite best intentions, a significant disconnect often exists between these two critical roles. A ‘Crucial Conversations’ study from Netskope reveals that this misalignment is a serious problem in many organisations, with two in five CEOs reporting a disconnect with their CIO on key decisions.

The research, which compiled data from qualitative interviews with 12 global CEOs at companies with 5,000 or more employees and 202 CIOs across the UK and US, highlights a concerning gap in understanding.

The findings show that 31% of CIOs lack confidence in knowing what their CEO truly wants. Furthermore, 34% of CIOs do not feel empowered to make long-term strategic calls.

Discussing the research, Mike Anderson, Netskope’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, says: “Our goal with this report is to give CIOs a peek inside the minds of CEOs, and offer guidance about how to position discussions in the most effective ways possible.”

Understanding the CEO perspective on technology

To bridge this communication gap, CIOs must first understand the expectations placed upon them.

Through its in-depth interviews, Netskope identified several key attributes CEOs seek in their technology leaders.

They expect CIOs to be technically proficient but with a primary focus on business outcomes. On top of this, they ask them to be forward-thinking when it comes to tomorrow’s technology but to also remain grounded in the present.

The ideal CIO is collaborative and involved across multiple departments without being domineering, and both visionary and strategic while remaining hands-on. Without this awareness, the report suggests that unclear communication and conflicting priorities will persist.

This disconnect is particularly evident in conversations around digital transformation. Despite the constant discussion around AI adoption and modernisation, 26% of CIOs find it difficult to get clear answers from their CEO on these strategies.

This could explain why 41% of CIOs believe their businesses are not investing enough in modernising IT infrastructure.

This lack of confidence was also reflected in recent PwC data, which noted a 20% drop since 2023 in the proportion of IT leaders who feel their function is ready for reinvention.

As David Smoley, former Global Chief Information Officer of AstraZeneca and Flex, said: “When it comes to your CEO relationship, focus on quality over quantity. It’s more important to have engaged communication and be closely aligned with their priorities than to have a high number of interactions for the sake of it.”

Structuring conversations around business priorities

For CIOs to build more effective relationships, they need a better grasp of the conversations that turn priorities into business decisions.

The Netskope research points to cost, risk and innovation as fundamental pillars for these discussions.

When it comes to cost, CEOs need to understand how IT investment enables efficient business operations. They also expressed the importance of having technical jargon simplified in order to make it more digestible.

Regarding risk, CEOs view it as a spectrum and ask their tech teams to present decisions as costed options with clear details on the risk level and associated trade-offs for each.

On the subject of innovation, many CEOs perceive their CIOs as being overly keen and perhaps naive to its downsides.

Netskope encourages tech leaders to present a clear path for innovations and communicate the rationale behind them.

Joe Topinka, Founder and CIO of CIO Mentor, said: “For IT and digital leaders leading modernisation, it means intentionally forging stronger ties with the C-suite that are anchored in clear communication and shared goals.”

Aligning on people, performance and the IT estate

The integration of people and AI in the workplace means CEOs are now encouraging CIOs to communicate about performance and resourcing across the entire company, not just within the IT department.

This extends to how the performance of technology is measured. Leaders expressed that they find this difficult due to a relative lack of technical knowledge.

The report suggests CEOs are therefore asking their CIOs to simplify reporting metrics for non-technical stakeholders around the boardroom table.

Finally, whether a CEO delegates complete oversight of the IT estate or wishes to remain involved, transparency is paramount.

Leaders want to know when things might go wrong well before they do, ensuring that technology serves as a stable and predictable asset for the business.