CIO: skills & capabilities the market requires

Based on 696 real CIO job postings, here is what companies actually require for this role today: the capabilities that define it, the hard skills named most often, the scope expected, typical experience and pay. The market leans hardest on Strategic Leadership (73%) and Technical Depth (65%).

Open the interactive Skill Check to filter by country, industry and company size.

Core capabilities for a CIO

Strategic Leadership — required in 73% of postings
Technical Depth — required in 65% of postings
Risk, Security & Compliance — required in 64% of postings
Operational Excellence — required in 56% of postings
Change & Transformation — required in 51% of postings
Stakeholder Management — required in 44% of postings
Executive Communication — required in 44% of postings

Most-required hard skills

Vendor Management
It Infrastructure Management
It Operations Management
Digital Transformation
It Governance
Cybersecurity
Project Management

Leadership & soft skills

Leadership
Stakeholder Management
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Change Management

Scope, experience & pay

CIO roles expect deal / M&A experience in 4% of postings, IPO or capital markets in 2%, and transformation in 50%. Typical stated experience: 10 years. Pay signal from postings (base): $166K–$201K.

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