Found this article on Mckinsey Quarterly , of an interview with the Credit Suisse CIO Tom Sanzone. Below are excerpts from the interview:

The Quarterly: What challenges and opportunities attracted you to Credit Suisse?

Tom Sanzone: Many CEOs talk about how crucial technology is to the future of the company, but then they place IT two or three layers below them in the organization. I think if something's that important, you want to keep it close. I've always felt that if companies are truly technology-centric, IT needs to have a seat at the table. The offer from Credit Suisse's CEO, Oswald Grübel, to report directly to him, to sit on the executive board, and to really be part of the team running the company-that was very exciting to me.

The other unique aspect of this role is that the entire technology organization is structured to report to the CIO. Very often, you'll see business-aligned development groups or sometimes even infrastructure groups reporting directly to the business units. Or companies have the development groups reporting to the business units and infrastructure groups working for the CIO. I think you can do more when you have the whole organization under one umbrella.

The Quarterly: So how do you think about the alignment between IT strategy and business strategy?

Tom Sanzone: Each of the three businesses has a strategy to become the Premier industry player over the next three years, and we have technology initiatives that can help the business achieve those strategies.

I often use a diagram of a pyramid to illustrate our IT strategy and vision and how the technology and business strategies are totally aligned. At the top of the pyramid is Credit Suisse's overarching vision of being the premier bank. Aligned below that is how IT supports that vision by becoming the premier IT organization in our industry and by creating competitive advantage for our clients. Our IT vision is in turn supported by three pillars: integration, improvement, and innovation-a strategy we call our three Is or I₃.

The Quarterly: How is the role of the CIO changing?

Tom Sanzone: I think the CIO role is getting even more challenging because the role of technology is becoming increasingly critical to the business, as well as increasingly pervasive and far reaching in scope. The business has changed, and in today's world technology plays a critical role, and we can no longer survive without it. IT services are delivered directly to the end customer, so successes and failures are more transparent to constituencies outside the bank. CIOs have higher exposure to the open market and to the public than in the past.

The people running technology organizations have had to broaden their skill sets significantly. The CIO needs to really understand the business and to contribute leadership outside of his or her traditional area of expertise. Take myself, for example. I'm a CIO, but I'm also a member of the executive board, and part of my job is to play a key role in the company's strategy and to get involved in decisions about which businesses we get into or out of. I'm a strategic partner around the table at the board level. IT is now considered a driver of a company's growth strategy rather than the back-engine supporting it. As a result, CIOs now have more accountability and more visibility than ever before. The CIO's ability to create fundamental business value is now greater than ever.

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Prashanth Rai