The cover story of the current issue of Waters Magazine "Silver Lining?" available on www.watersonline.com presents the point of view that despite the current turmoil in the world economy that there is still significant demand for talented technology executives. As one of the people from the executive search industry that the author, Emily Fraser, contacted for our perspective on the prospects for career moves in the financial services industry, I expressed my belief that times are not as bleak as most of the media would have us believe.

In difficult economic times companies will hire the talent they need to grow or maintain their revenues. When they bring in a new CEO or COO that will often result in a changeover in the IT leadership as well. Sometimes the CEO will bring with them the trusted leader they worked with at a previous company or just want to build their own executive team around them.

Another factor that impacts who is sitting in key IT leadership positions is the continued convergence of technology and operations under one top executive both to ensure a unified vision for these areas and for the economics of hiring one key hire.

Also discussed in the article is the ever sensitive topic of compensation. Yes, compensation in financial services has taken a hit because of the performance of many of the pre-eminent firms in the industry - but when it comes to bringing new people into an organization there is still an acknowledged need to compensate these people fairly - even if it is done by being more creative with the overall compensation package in terms of weighing it more to long term incentives than immediate cash. This will not only ensure attracting the talent you are looking for, but is a key factor in retention since some of these long term incentives are now paid out over even longer periods of time.

Compensation is not the only factor in attracting key executives. Especially due to the volatility experienced by many in the past year, technology executives are extremely cautious about making a change - the concern is to not go from the frying pan into the fire - and they heavily weigh the cultural fit before contemplating joining another organization. We've seen instances of people on the beach turning down offers as they wait for the right fit. We've also seen our clients willing to take a search out much longer than in the past to find the exact skill sets and persona that they want.

In the tougher economic times that we are in at the present, the job market may seem to have narrowed, but technology executives have the ability to be tremendous value-added to whatever firm they are a part of - and that ability also transcends industries. Because technology executives who have operated in the financial services industry have had to support some of the most demanding clients around and to do it in a real-time environment their skills are valued by many other industries.

The message that arises out of this cover story in Waters is that if you are a technology executive who is good at what you do, you still have an excellent chance of finding the new opportunity you are looking for - especially if you can demonstrate how your company will realize a significant return on their investment in you.

Networking is a skill that women CIOs need to actively cultivate, and have neglected for too long.

From conversations that we've had with the many CIOs we speak with on a daily basis it is apparent that men are far more interested and diligent in their efforts to build up a solid network of peers that they can tap for advice, perspective on their industries, and even to establish a pipeline for potential new jobs.

Even CIO conferences are more slanted to encouraging networking among male peers - since the networking activities are usually centered around events that are more male-oriented such as golf tournaments.

To offer a forum for women technology executives in the NY metropolitan area to expand their network of contacts and to discuss issues unique to the office of the CIO and how being a woman in that role impacts those issues, JB Homer Associates recently hosted a breakfast meeting of women CIOs. The attendees came from NY, NJ and CT and from the fields of financial services, advertising, retail, and consumer products.

The response to the meeting was very heartening, because all of the CIOs shared the same sentiment, that they appreciated having an opportunity to speak with their peers about some of the issues they encounter as female CIOs in a male dominated economy.

By way of introducing the attendees to each other, the initial discussion centered on each participant giving a brief description of their current roles and how they became a CIO. The lively discussion focused on the obstacles and prejudices these talented women overcame to be deemed good enough to gain the top spot in their technology organizations, as well as their concern that fewer women are entering the field of IT which they attributed to not seeing enough role models to emulate. While we all agreed that it is certainly more common today to see women executives heading technology organizations than it was 10 or 20 years ago, it is still not totally reflective of the number of women in technology. The CIOs shared their points of view of why the number of female CIOs is still relatively small, and then discussed some of the issues they've dealt with as they advanced in their careers. They also shared how they are mentoring key members of their organizations so that the women technology executives in the workforce now will be better equipped to deal with these same issues in the future.

A topic that will always come up when women executives get together is their work/life balance. Everyone contributed to the discussion of whether a good work/life balance is an achievable goal, what to do to make it possible, and how they strive to make it look as seamless as possible to their companies and to their families. Some of the CIOs gave credit to the strong support systems they enjoy at home with their husbands or partners taking on more of the home front responsibilities; others who are either single parents or just single were candid in their discussion of the sacrifices that they've made in order to reach their level of success and maintain their personal relationships. Everyone agreed not that it was very valuable for them to be able to share with their peers the commonality of their experiences that being a woman CIO often involves coordinating the responsibilities of 2 full time jobs - one devoted to business and one devoted to family.

Another topic that created a lot of interest was how as women CIOs these executives have leveraged their abilities to put together effective business cases for funding their projects in user-friendly terminology resulting in much more successful partnerships with the management teams and Boards at their companies.

What this 2 hour session demonstrated was how much common ground these women CIOs share, and the ideas and positive feedback they gained from sharing the experiences of their peers -made more interesting by the fact that they were from so many different industries.

After we surveyed the attendees following the meeting the universal feeling that was expressed was that it was worth the investment of their time to network because they went back to their companies refreshed and more enthusiastic about what they were doing; and that they appreciated having the opportunity to initiate productive business relationships that could develop into friendships as well.

At their request we will be hosting additional breakfast forums because even though everyone's day-to-day responsibilities are considerable and time consuming women CIOs are finally understanding what their male counterparts already realize that the one of the best investments of their time is the time they invest in themselves and their personal and professional relationships.

There has been much talk about the changing role of the CIO. As businesses must overcome hurdles to survive in the global economy the CIO will be a major player.

Previously, the CIO's role was predominately an internal role. CIOs were viewed as service providers to the business and it was not a major requirement to have an awareness of the way the business was run. They were technologists that took direction from the business units for their deliverables. In the new world the CIOs will not only have to be engaged with the internal clients they will also have to be engaged with the end users of their company's products. They will have to become business people as well as technologists in order to gain insight to every aspect of what consumers are looking for from the technology side of the products delivered.

The next-generation of CIOs will have to have skills not previously required. They will have to be exceptional leaders that know how to motivate their team and must also be able to communicate effectively with executive management and in some cases their Boards to articulate value propositions for technology investments that will enable their companies to compete in a global market environment.

The new CIOs will have to speak the language of the business and not just communicate in the terms of a technology guru that most CIOs have become accustomed to. They will have to be skilled at being relationship managers with their strategic business partners to whom they have outsourced some of their technology needs. CIOs will have to negotiate with individuals over whom they have no formal control. Their goal will be to build and maintain partnerships with vendors around the world because of their value to the business, not just based on who will offer them the lowest prices.

The new CIOs will have to deal with a different workforce that could be located in different countries and have to gain their trust and motivate them to deliver on the technology organization vision. The domestic workforce is also changing and today's younger generation has different values. Their access to technology and organizational alignment is also different than the traditional workforce has been accustomed to. These are all issues CIOs will have to contend with to be successful.

Technology is usually taken for granted that it will perform seamlessly. What's important now is the partnership with the business to help deliver on the strategic plan for the future. It is not enough to run technology as a business. Today's CIO is expected to use technology as an enabler to grow the business, increase customer satisfaction, and increase market share. If those efforts are successful, those CIOs will share in the rewards.

In times of financial downturn where attrition and layoffs have become more prevalent, management, from the CEO on down, should look for innovative and creative ways to engage and retain their valuable leadership as studies show that the loss of a key executive can ultimately cost a company double the executives' annual salary or more.

One of the key elements in a successful hire is to make sure the executive acclimates into the company culture as quickly as possible. At JB Homer, one of the most important functions of our search process is to assess the executive's ability to fit into our clients' culture. This helps to ensure a more seamless transition during the on boarding phase and promotes longevity. The wrong cultural fit can have consequences including retraining a potential replacement and the loss of the executive's knowledge base.

As executives successfully acclimate into the corporate culture and their respective roles, companies can keep these key performers engaged by encouraging them to sit on internal committees, attend external seminars, and act as a corporate spokespersons as a way to have these executives feel part of the company they work for, thus giving them a vested interest in the company's success. Also, by offering executives advancement opportunities, involving them in leadership development programs and challenging projects, and creating a culture of accountability, companies can help ensure that executives are appreciated and content in their roles.

Retention programs are another viable way to help guarantee keeping key executives on board. This can include tuition reimbursement for continuing education, extending vacation time, providing talented executives with competitive salary benefits and bonus structure tied to individual accomplishments and achievements, offering participation in employee stock ownership plans, improving the pension plan, providing higher retirement benefits and offering a flexible work/life balance. By retaining these valued executives, companies can avoid losing key performers to the competition which could potentially lessen competitive advantage, affect the morale of the staff, and negatively impact shareholder value.

Succession planning is also vital to retaining leadership talent within the company. Key performers who know they are being groomed for succession are more likely to remain in place and it provides continuity in executive leadership and helps to drive down the potential cost of disruptive succession from one leader to another. Succession planning can also be looked at as a long-term investment which over the course of time can help to deliver a steady and sustainable ROI.

A fully engaged executive remains intellectually and emotionally bound with the company by maintaining relationships with key members of the leadership team, feeling passionate about its goals and in turn helps to drive the business forward. In times of financial downturn, keeping an executive engaged and content is a prudent strategy. Good retention practices focus not only on what the executive is contributing to the company, but also focuses on how the management can create a climate in which the executive is retained and committed on a long-term basis.

Executives should look to contribute in areas outside their specific job scope as a way to remain engaged and to be perceived as a valuable member of the organization. This strategy, coupled with the corporate retention strategies, can help to eliminate the fear factor of losing your job in the current economy. Engagement is the proper blend of commitment, loyalty, productivity and ownership from both a management and executive perspective.