Graceful exits from IT: Why CIOs decide to move on

16.07.2012
Great CIOs and IT executives help drive their companies by being agile, innovative managers. They nurture their employees, build talented teams and foster creativity in their people. They try new things. They lead by example.

And then they leave.

Or some do, at least. The CIO role has always been volatile, but above and beyond the normal movement in the industry, the past several years have seen an uptick in anecdotal reports of talented and visionary CIOs leaving their posts. Some head up the corporate ladder to even higher positions or move out of the IT department to take jobs in business units. Others strike out on their own, perhaps pursuing careers as consultants or Web entrepreneurs.

Several CIOs who have made such choices are past honorees in , which indicates that they're seasoned IT professionals with solid management skills. Since such talented people are forgoing long-term careers as CIOs, it's fair to ask: Do these departures represent a natural progression in the careers of accomplished executives, or do they say something troubling about the working environment of enterprise IT? There may be clues in these stories of six IT professionals who left jobs as CIOs.

From IT to Operations

"There are different types of CIOs," says Bryan J. Timm. "I'm the type who wants to be an enabler of the business, so personally I needed to move into an operations role."