Building Future-Ready Technology Leadership in Higher Education

Colleges and universities increasingly rely on technology to support their missions of education, research and community engagement. As technology evolves, higher education faces mounting pressure not only to keep pace but to use that technology effectively to enhance operational efficiencies, educational experiences and research capabilities.

Artificial intelligence (AI) sits at the center of this transformation. Institutions are deploying AI to streamline administrative workflows, enable personalized learning, automate grading and accelerate research. However, the rapid adoption of AI also brings significant uncertainties. Recent studies have raised concerns about AI’s impact on student learning, critical thinking, and information retention. These issues are not yet fully understood. While AI tools offer tremendous potential, they also carry risks that require thoughtful governance and a balanced approach. Institutions need leaders who can embrace innovation while anticipating unintended consequences and adapting strategies as evidence evolves.

A majority of education and research institution leaders (57%) cite technological change as their top challenge in 2025, according to Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Leadership Monitor. But despite its strategic importance, only 40% of higher education leaders express confidence in their ability to navigate this change.

As a result, the role of the chief information officer (CIO) has become even more critical. Higher education CIOs oversee a broad portfolio of responsibilities. While technology infrastructure and cybersecurity remain core areas of focus, many CIOs also lead enterprise applications, data governance, instructional technology, and digital transformation initiatives that cross academic and administrative domains. Institutions want CIOs who combine strong strategic leadership, deep business acumen and exceptional communication skills. The emphasis goes well beyond technical expertise, requiring CIOs to lead enterprise-wide innovation, embed AI across operations, and align technology strategies with evolving organizational goals.

Yet the leadership pipeline has not kept pace with these shifting demands. Our analysis of the backgrounds and experiences of CIOs at U.S. News & World Report’s top 100 national universities reveals persistent gaps:

As higher education stands at the crossroads of technological disruption and institutional transformation, the question for the sector becomes: What does it take to develop future-ready, innovative technology leaders?

To help answer this, Russell Reynolds Associates interviewed CIOs from over a dozen institutions—including R1 universities (classified as having very high research activity) and liberal arts colleges—to identify strategies for cultivating next-generation technology leadership.

Strategies for building a future-ready technology leadership pipeline

The technology leaders at many colleges and universities aren’t fully ready to handle the accelerating digital disruption. Developing technology leaders who can drive innovation and align IT with institutional goals requires a clear strategy. This challenge is compounded by the complex, resource-constrained environment of higher education, where competing priorities and limited budgets are the norm. From our interviews, the following strategies emerged as essential for building a resilient leadership pipeline in higher education IT:

1. Future-ready succession planning

Succession planning goes beyond identifying potential future leaders. It requires cultivating diverse pipelines of digitally-fluent, strategically-minded talent equipped to lead through rapid technological change.

As universities face more retirements and leadership transitions, they must plan for a range of scenarios. In an era when AI, data and digital infrastructure are central to institutional strategy, it’s essential to develop internal candidates ready to lead through disruption and change. The goal is to build a strong, sustainable leadership bench with diverse experiences and capabilities that reflect the institution’s evolving priorities.

Some interviewed CIOs spoke of the value of taking concrete steps to understand their team members’ leadership potential. Executive leadership assessment tools can help identify individual capabilities and growth areas, making it easier to align roles, responsibilities and training opportunities with each person’s skill set.

Effective succession planning is ultimately about creating a culture of ongoing development and opportunity. By moving away from reactive hiring and toward continuous future planning, institutions can ensure that leadership transitions strengthen their momentum rather than disrupt it.

Succession planning isn’t just about who’s next. It’s about who’s ready now, even if they don’t get the role for five years. You have to keep developing the bench, not just wait for a vacancy.”

Kendra Ketchum
Vice President for Information Management and Technology, University of Texas at San Antonio

2. Intentional leadership development and mentorship

Structured mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership development programs are critical to nurturing diverse talent pipelines in IT departments. This includes a blend of on-the-job training, one-on-one coaching and stretch assignments that expose potential CIOs to different functions and challenges across the institution. “Farm team” models, in which high-potential talent is paired with senior leaders, also can accelerate development and readiness.

One R1 institution has implemented a multi-layered approach to identify and support emerging leaders. Through small-group discussions with front-line teams and one-on-one meetings in which staff are encouraged to share their career goals and perspectives, the CIO surfaces people who demonstrate systems thinking and strategic insight. Some universities also offer dedicated managerial training and targeted initiatives to advance women in IT.

In addition to internal initiatives, many institutions participate in outside programs to strengthen leadership development. Others partner with external organizations to provide structured development and peer learning. National efforts such as MOR Leadership Program and the Next Leaders Fellowship also help expand access to executive networks and mentorship opportunities.

As a CIO, you have to be deliberate about identifying future leaders and carve out time to connect, observe, and invest in people. It’s not just about having an interaction with someone and thinking, ‘They might be good.’ You have to go out and find those people.”

Heath Tuttle
Vice President and Chief Information Officer at University at Buffalo

3. Cross-functional collaboration and external partnerships

Developing the next generation of technology leaders requires exposure beyond the IT organization. Encouraging IT professionals to engage across departments sharpens their understanding of how technology intersects with broader institutional goals. Participation in interdisciplinary initiatives and university-wide committees allows emerging leaders to practice stakeholder engagement, navigate complexity, and influence outcomes beyond the IT domain.

Developing next-generation CIOs means giving people opportunities to grow beyond their current roles, to see how institutions really work, and to practice leadership before they’re officially in charge.”

Samantha Earp
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Tufts University

In addition, collaborating with outside organizations and peer institutions can significantly expand learning opportunities for emerging leaders. One university’s partnership with a major technology company to build a security operations center provided hands-on leadership experience in a high-stakes, real-world environment. Other institutions use cross-campus collaborations to share best practices, explore AI use cases and accelerate development of future leaders. These partnerships offer diverse talent broader exposure and industry insights.

4. Innovation as a leadership development tool

Innovation is a powerful mechanism for developing technology leaders. Within IT organizations, creating space for experimentation fosters a culture of ownership, creative problem-solving and adaptability. These experiences help develop key executive skills, such as influencing across teams, navigating uncertainty, and translating technical ideas into concrete results.

As innovation increasingly centers around emerging technologies such as AI, advanced data analytics and automation, building digital fluency and AI literacy across IT leadership teams has become critical to this development. Not all leaders have to be AI experts, but they must understand how these technologies can be leveraged responsibly to advance academic and operational goals.

Equally important is cultivating an environment that encourages calculated risks and sees failure as part of the learning process. When leaders model vulnerability and support experimentation, they send a clear message: growth comes not from perfection but from trying, failing, adapting and ultimately delivering value. This mindset is especially critical as higher education faces increased complexity, constrained resources and rapid technological advancement.

Developing next-generation CIOs for an era of technology transformation

Meeting the moment of digital disruption in higher education requires reimagining how we define, develop, and elevate future CIOs. As institutions confront increasing pressure to modernize systems, student experiences and research infrastructure, building a future-ready IT leadership pipeline has never been more urgent.

Recommendations for institutions:

• Embed leadership development into daily operations by providing stretch assignments, cross-functional projects and inclusive mentorship.
• Identify leaders who can both adeptly navigate change and keep their organization steady through the day-to-day.
• Build succession planning into the culture rather than reserving it for moments of transition.
• Broaden the definition of readiness beyond technical credentials by recognizing strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and cross-campus fluency as core qualifications.
• Foster environments that reward experimentation and agility, encouraging emerging leaders to take calculated risks and lead transformational initiatives.

Recommendations for aspiring technology leaders:

• Take initiative in your development: Seek out mentors, pursue external programs and raise your hand for complex, high-impact projects.
• Embrace calculated risk-taking: Don’t be afraid to pilot new ideas, test emerging technologies, and learn from setbacks.
• Expand your institutional perspective by engaging across departments and committees and viewing your role through the lens of university strategy.
• Reflect on your leadership values and experiences and learn to articulate them in ways that resonate with executive stakeholders.
• Build visibility early by staying informed about leadership trends, seeking feedback from trusted mentors and taking steps to position yourself for future opportunities.

Authors

• Nick Dials is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Officers Practice. He is based in Boston.
• Guillaume Morisset leads Knowledge for Russell Reynolds Associates’ Higher Education Practice. He is based in Boston.
• Jett Pihakis leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ Higher Education Practice. He is based in Washington DC.
• Suya Xiong leads Knowledge for Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Officers Practice. She is based in Boston.