娇色导航Hall of Fame members turned board directors shed light on the terrain IT leaders must navigate to secure board seats.
When Larry Quinlan retired as global 娇色导航of Deloitte in 2021, he considered some romantic notions like running a nonprofit or becoming a university professor.聽After some due diligence, though, he followed a different path: boards of directors.聽
For Wayne Shurts, who like Quinlan is a 娇色导航Hall of Fame inductee, the decision to join boards came sooner. Shurts was among the first wave of IT leaders to join public-company boards during his tenure as 娇色导航of Sysco.聽
In an era where boards are plucking technology executives quicker than ever, many CIOs see directorships as their next career ambition.聽But the stark reality is board service isn鈥檛 for everyone. And many if not most CIOs are not well-rounded enough to reach that apex.聽
鈥淐IOs think technology will get them to the boardroom,鈥� says Shurts, who has served on multiple public- and private-company boards. 鈥淵es, more boards want tech expertise, but you have to provide the right knowledge, breadth, and depth on topics that matter to their businesses.鈥澛�
Art Hopkins, who鈥檚 global head of Russell Reynolds Associates鈥� Technology Officer Practice and also conducts CEO and board searches, agrees. 鈥淭he basic eligibility requirement for serving on a board is that you鈥檙e a well-rounded business executive who spikes deep in some area that鈥檚 relevant to the board,鈥� he says.聽鈥淎 lot of CIOs aren鈥檛 as broad as they think they are.鈥澛�
Conversations with experts like Hopkins, as well as several CIO-turned-board-members, reveal some key issues IT leaders face when striving for a directorship. But they also shed light on the most practical and effective ways to position themselves for the role.聽
The root of motivation
In his role as a faculty member in Russell Reynolds鈥� Next-Gen Director program, a year-long program that helps prepare CXOs for board service, Hopkins asks three questions of participants:聽
- Why do you want to be on a board in the first place?聽
- What鈥檚 the board-level niche of expertise for which you鈥檙e in the 99th percentile of your peer group?聽
- Given the board is the CEO鈥檚 boss, how are you uniquely qualified to be part of it?聽
Answering all three convincingly is a difficult task, even for the most confident IT leaders. And have no doubt that there are landmines built into each question. For example, if compensation is a big driver for why CIOs want to be on boards, that鈥檚 probably a non-starter.聽Likewise, giving technical, tactical answers tied to what puts you in the elite percentile of your global peers won鈥檛 win you points.聽
Quinlan has long championed the importance of technological expertise. But he knew early in his journey that boards wanted far more than a card-carrying CIO, he says.聽Understanding the business. The ability to ask questions of the executive suite. Deep knowledge of the governance process. The ability to influence where necessary. These are all key leadership skills CIOs need to bring to the boardroom, he adds.聽
鈥淭here has to be an ability to function beyond the calling card,鈥� says Quinlan, who currently serves on the boards of ServiceNow, JLL, Bookings Holdings, UBS Americas, and a few private-equity portfolio companies. 鈥淭he CFO in the boardroom needs to be able to function beyond finance. The 娇色导航in the boardroom needs to function beyond technology.鈥澛�
Sigal Zarmi, a former 娇色导航of Morgan Stanley, PwC, and GE Capital, brings other intangibles to her boards beyond IT leadership skills.聽聽
鈥淥ne of the things is the scale of what I ran,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 worked for large companies, and I鈥檝e seen a lot. The global experience is another one. Today, you have geopolitical pressure, policy changes, and a lot of other challenges companies need to grapple with.鈥�
Those attributes, along with her strategic, transformational, and cyber expertise have helped her join the boards of ADT, GoDaddy and Global Atlantic.聽
Those are some examples of the spikes Hopkins stresses.聽But CIOs aspiring to board seats have even more work to do.聽
Knowledge is power
In recent years, technology-related topics have risen on the agendas of corporate boards, so it鈥檚 no surprise that more IT leaders are joining their ranks.聽
Take EY鈥檚 Americas Board Priorities 2025 report. Board directors responding to the survey noted they needed to spend more time on cybersecurity and innovation. They also said they needed more insight in emerging technology.聽Sounds like a job for IT leaders, right? Absolutely. In fact, 40% of those same board directors said their management teams had the right skills and resources to address those key topics.聽
Herein lies another conundrum for CIOs seeking spots on boards. Many see those findings and think they can help with that. But the context is more important.聽
鈥淚n your operational role as a CIO, you鈥檙e very much involved in the details, solving problems every day,鈥� Zarmi says. 鈥淥n the board, you don鈥檛 solve the problems. You help, coach, mentor, ask questions, make suggestions, and impart wisdom, but you鈥檙e not responsible for execution.鈥澛�
That鈥檚 another change IT leaders need to make to position themselves for board seats. Luckily, there are tools that can help them make the leap.聽Quinlan, for example, got a certification from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), which offers a variety of resources for aspiring board members.聽And he took it a few steps further by attaining a financial certification. Sure, he鈥檇 been involved in P&L management, but the certification helped him understand finance at the board鈥檚 altitude.聽
He also added a cybersecurity certification even though he runs multi-hundred-million-dollar cyber programs. 鈥淩ight, but I haven鈥檛 run it at the board, and I wanted to do that,鈥� he says.
From an even wider perspective, Shurts explains what helps so many IT leaders achieve their career pinnacle.聽鈥淚f you can provide the story of why boards need a tech expert, that鈥檒l open some eyes,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut you also have to show them you can be involved in discussions about capital structure, M&A, talent development, and so on. That鈥檚 what will make you more attractive.鈥�
