Need To KnowNeed To Know

Tech professionals who are headed for IT leadership positions often don't have the full range of knowledge and skills they need. They may be top-notch techies but still need tutoring in how to communicate with peers, negotiate with vendors, interact with the board of directors, and manage the costs and risks of tech investments and strategies.

Carnegie Mellon University, through an alliance with Tatum Partners, has just the curriculum for CIOs in training. The 12-course, yearlong CIO Essentials program, introduced last summer, will graduate its first class of nine management-ready individuals in June, says Dan Gingras, a partner at Tatum, a professional services company that provides executive talent, including CIOs.

Among the mix of current students are IT directors and managers at fast-growing, small and midsize companies who are looking to adapt or expand their tech strategies. Recently named CIOs as well as established CIOs are also among the student body.

"After 16 years of experience in all aspects of IT, I thought I was prepared for a CIO position. I couldn't have been more wrong," says Scott Nease, information systems manager at Axis Dental, a distributor of dental tools. "The delta between being an industry expert and a CIO is vast. The knowledge I gained from this course has already been put to good use in my organization, and I feel prepared for anything that comes along."

As part of the program, students have access to Tatum partners for mentoring and coaching. Since the students are business and tech professionals with diverse backgrounds, they learn from sharing their experiences in the classroom.

"This program addresses the bench-strength issue in getting more people ready" to effectively lead business technology organizations and create strategies, says Pradeep Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering and co-founder of Carnegie Mellon CyLab, which developed the program with Tatum.

A recent survey by the Association of Executive Search Consultants showed that one in five headhunters expects a shortage of CIOs, CTOs, and other top IT leaders in 2006.

The CIO Essentials courses are offered one weekend a month for six months and cost $7,995. Khosla says alternative programs that provide students with this type of education include more extensive master's and graduate degree programs.