For new CIOs, the management challenge is not simply identifying cyber threats; it is deciding which risks deserve budget, executive attention and delivery capacity first. That makes risk management a portfolio question as much as a security one. The practical test is whether the CIO can translate technical exposure into business impact that finance, operations and the board can compare against other priorities.
A useful implication for leaders is that the first months in role should be structured around decision-making clarity, not just diagnostics. A listening tour and risk review are only valuable if they reveal who owns appetite, who approves exceptions and how often the enterprise will revisit those calls. Without that governance, risk assessments can become reports with no effect on funding or behaviour.
The article also points to a trade-off many organisations understate: faster mitigation can reduce disruption, but it can also consume scarce transformation budget and slow other change. New CIOs therefore need a simple way to show where incremental spend changes outcomes, where risk can be accepted temporarily, and where delays create unacceptable operational or reputational exposure.
The next questions for executives are practical: Which three risks would create the largest enterprise consequence if they materialised this quarter? Who in the business co-owns the response? What evidence will prove the risk posture is improving? Those answers help the CIO move from being seen as an IT steward to an accountable enterprise leader.
Start with a Risk Management Plan
In response to the pressure to quickly demonstrate their value to the organization, new CIOs should start by developing a solid risk management plan, Sampath said. One of the first steps is to analyze the reliability and credibility of organizational data, he said. CIOs should source data from different divisions in their organization and identify the biggest threats and vulnerabilities, in addition to emerging security issues. This data can include past incident reports and audit findings, but CIOs should also examine industry forums and reports to “understand and eliminate blind spots from your view,” Sampath explained. New CIOs will need to establish a cadence for conducting and reporting on risk assessments, such as monthly or quarterly, “so that you are re-evaluating and validating your understanding, and your organization’s understanding, of what the biggest risk exposures are, and that you’re looking at it from various lenses like impact and likelihood,” he said. “Some risks might come really fast and others might be slow-moving.” Srinath Sampath, an analyst at Gartner, speaks at the company’s recent IT Symposium/Xpo in Orlando. Sampath said a Gartner survey found that CIOs and IT leaders consider cybersecurity and risk management activities they must get right. (PHOTO BY KELSEY ZISER/INFORMATIONWEEK)Establish Relationships within the C-suite
Relationship building will also be key to the risk management development process, Sampath said. “One of the first things you want to do is to gather and gain quick situational awareness about what are the expectations that your stakeholders have from you,” Sampath said. “When do they expect to see certain types of outcomes and changes?” To identify stakeholder expectations, Sampath suggests setting up a “listening tour” with other C-suite executives. During this exercise, it’s important for the CIO to build a “good working relationship” with the CISO and determine how to “collaborate and coordinate risk management activities” so there’s a plan in place should a cybersecurity threat arise. The listening tour process should also reveal the board and executive team’s “risk appetite,” Sampath added. CIOs will need to understand how to balance executives’ tolerance for the duration of an operational or technological disruption with the financial cost of mitigation. Balancing response time to a threat with budgetary constraints means landing “at a spot where the organization feels comfortable with the levels of risk that they’re accepting, and it’s something that you can deliver as an organization.”Risk Management Is a Team Effort
CIOs should also create a committee or governing body as part of their risk management strategy, including representation across business divisions that isn’t limited to participants representing IT and security roles, Sampath said. “Make sure there is some business representation in there, because this is not purely about technology,” he said. “This is about technology-driven business impacts and business risks to the overall enterprise.” With a solid risk management plan in place, support throughout the organization and from the C-suite, new-to-the-role CIOs can set themselves up for success in the near term. Making the link between technology risks and financial and operational failures (or outcomes) is key. “Try to create a connection between the underlying technology risk exposures and the ultimate business consequences that your C-suite and stakeholders ultimately care about,” Sampath advised.Enjoyed this article? Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular insights and stay connected.