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CIO First Look

June 10, 2025

Being at the ready when sudden opportunities occur can make all the difference to a career. For aspiring CIOs or anyone gunning for an IT leadership role, getting a few precious minutes with CXO or board influence is gold — but only if you’re able to use that time to make an impact. Otherwise, you’d be better off just staring at the elevator floor.
Rising to the occasion is a skill you have to work at, not hope for. Stand-up comedians have their material, but being part of a business means knowing that business inside and out, whether it’s directly in your remit or not. In today’s top story, we discuss how to be succinct, accurate, and informed when put on the spot about how IT delivers business value, or what tech risks need to be prioritized, so you leave an impression that’s going to resonate.
Questions can come out of the blue, and often catch you off guard. So to play the odds, these are the top responses you should have in your holster that can get you out of a jam, or even into the C-suite’s good books.

Carl Friedmann, Executive Regional Editor, CIO

5 questions every aspiring CIO should be prepared to answer

CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs present budgets, digital transformation programs, and risk management priorities to the C-suite and board with greater frequency these days. But IT leaders who aspire to C-level roles have few opportunities to show key executives what they know. So, being prepared for those 30 seconds caught in the proverbial elevator with the CEO or a board member is critical because it may be your only opportunity to make an impression that paves the way for future C-level opportunities.

To shine in these moments you’ll need to illustrate your business acumen and tell a story about how technology is delivering business value at your company. And while there isn’t one right way to answer an executive’s off-the-cuff question at the watercooler, the first rule for aspiring IT leaders is to be prepared to answer any business executive’s questions in a way that avoids technical jargon and leaves a lasting impression by knowing the business’s primary objectives, growth targets, and operational goals.

9 mins