How To Rise From CIO To CEO | Lessons From The AWS Mega Outage | A Quantum Computing Giant Is Born | And More

Plus: Meet The Upstarts Leading The Digital Recovery: 30 Under 30 In Enterprise Tech

Hi there, and welcome to the latest Forbes CIO newsletter.

The recent news that Twitter had elevated Parag Agrawal, its CTO, to replace Jack Dorsey as CEO was a rare example of a technology leader being propelled directly into the corner office. 

The typical route to the top job still tends to run through business head roles or via other C-suite posts, such as COO or CFO. CIOs who have gone on to become CEOs, such as Greg Carmichael, the chairman and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, one of the U.S.’s top 10 consumer-focused banks, have often used the tech role as a springboard to take on additional responsibilities.

Speaking at this week’s fourth and final episode in the Forbes CIO Next event series, Carmichael urged CIOs who aspire to the CEO role to seize opportunities to demonstrate leadership outside the IT function when they arise. 

He gave an example from his own experience, when he was able to draw on project management skills and other expertise from his time in IT at Fifth Third and other businesses, including an arm of GE, to help transform the bank’s mortgage and car loan operations. “I wasn’t the expert,” Carmichael said, “but I would learn quickly and put people in to execute a plan.” 

Jude Schramm, who is the current CIO of Fifth Third and also came in from GE, has clearly taken a leaf out of his CEO's book. Speaking at the CIO Next event, he said he had assumed responsibility for operations as well as IT after a year in the tech leadership role at the bank. “I have a really strong interest in the business side of banking,” said Schramm.

Asked what reporting to a former CIO-turned-CEO is like, Schramm said he recognized the setup is fairly rare, but that he appreciates working for Carmichael because his boss doesn’t just bring a clear strategic vision to the table, but also a CIO’s instinct for setting priorities around what needs to get done.

That recipe may well appeal to more boards looking for CEOs in the future as software (and its associated hardware) becomes ever more central to companies’ success.

Thanks for reading—and do let me know if you have any suggestions for themes to cover in future issues. You can contact me on Twitter here and LinkedIn here.

Technology & Innovation

Quantum computing: A big new corporate player called Quantinuum has appeared in the quantum world with a war chest of over $270 million. The combination of U.S.-based Honeywell Quantum Solutions and U.K.-headquartered Cambridge Quantum brings together a top manufacturer of quantum hardware with a leader in algorithms for quantum applications.

Semiconductors: While the Anglo-U.S. quantum marriage above got a green light from regulators, antitrust authorities are doing their best to scupper U.S. chip giant Nvidia’s $74 billion bid to buy British chip design powerhouse Arm. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal because it fears it will damage competition and innovation.

Leadership & Strategy

Supply chain management: The chaos that has disrupted electronics supply chains this year looks like it could stretch into 2022 and possibly beyond. CIOs need to consider a number of important factors, which are laid out here, as they plan ahead for their hardware needs.

Ethics: New technologies can make ethical violations easier to perpetrate during the pandemic, but they can also help to detect them. Leaders across the C-suite need to pay close attention to this double-edged sword, says Forbes Contributor Jeff Thomson in this thoughtful review of the ethical landscape.

Talent & Careers

Succession planning: Thinking about how to ensure your eventual successor is well-prepared to step into your shoes? Then you might want to watch the HBO comedy-drama television series Succession for tips about what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to planning handovers.

Workforce reduction: If you ever need to downsize your team—which, admittedly, isn’t a problem that most IT leaders are likely to face these days—here’s absolutely how not to do it.

"I can provide a Jeep for an off-road trail, planning an end-to-end trail experience for my customer."

Mamatha Chamarthi

Head of Software Business & Product Management P&L, Stellantis

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