Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Information Technology (IT) Director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals. Generally, the CIO reports to the chief executive officer, chief operating officer or chief financial officer. In military organizations, they report to the commanding officer.

The CIO can often wear many hats within an organization depending on its structure, size and industry. Our goal is to understand how a CIO functions to accomplish IT (Information Technology) initiatives aligned with business objectives. As we will discover, few IT projects and functions are performed without the objectives of the business in mind. The CIO is a key executive within most organizations and we'll examine further how this role became a key part of the modern organization. We will also explore how the role of the CIO differs among various industries and organizations, and we will discuss the important factors of IT that CIOs focus on most often.