Skift Take
Innovation is a continual process, which makes the job of a CIO one that is constantly evolving to meet consumers' expectations. To do that successfully, today's CIO needs not just technical know-how but also strong business acumen and communication skills to help businesses realize their goals.
Increased demand for a multifaceted hotel chief information officer — one who is fluent in technology and business operations while understanding a company's financials — is transforming the required skill set and the role itself.
It is clear from the thoughts of CIOs at Fairmont, Wyndham, and Starwood that this evolution has ushered in a new type of CIO who is playing a more critical role in crafting hotel strategies.
The CIO's position within a company has seen significant changes within the past five years, says Vineet Gupta, CIO, Fairmont Raffles Hotels and Resorts. The new CIO not only has to understand emerging technologies but increasingly is being called up to play a leadership role in the business side of the equation.
“It’s being driven a lot by consumer technology ... because the other executives and other business owners have come to realize how important technology is for anything they do,” Gupta says. “I think that's really what caused the shift. It’s the consumer technology space which has caused the shift on the business side.”
This transformation has been under way for years. In 2013, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 156 CIOs from a cross-section of industries, with 4 percent of respondents working in the transportation, travel, and tourism. The report, The strategic CIO: risks, opportunities and outco
