CIO Coaching for Australian Technology Leaders
My practice is called CTO Coach, but most of my clients are actually CIOs. The CIO role is one of the hardest in the enterprise. You're accountable for delivering technology, managing an inherited estate of systems and vendors, and making the case for investment — all while the board is asking what IT actually delivers for the business. I help Australian CIOs close that gap and lead with authority.
I've run tech, and I’ve also been the exec on the other side of the table
Most coaches don’t come from a technology background. A few come from technology and probably understand coaching theory. What they don't always understand is what a CEO, CFO, or board member actually wants and needs from their CIO. I do. I was that person grilling you from the other side of the table. I understand your context.
I've been the CEO asking whether the CIO's transformation roadmap justifies the budget. I've been the Chief Growth Officer, trying to move fast and asking the CIO for the AI strategy that will drive revenue. And I've been the Founder and CEO who built from nothing and had to earn board trust the hard way.
This context sets the foundation of my CIO coaching. We will get to the nub of the issues earlier. I understand the translation problem — not just from IT to business, but from your intentions to their perceptions, and from their perceptions to trust and support. That gap is almost always where the work is.
What Clients Are Saying: “elevating leadership game to a much higher level”
“Over the past 18 months, Andy has coached me to success as Alinta's CIO - guiding me on how to lead my teams, influence and collaborate with my peer Executives, contribute as part of an executive team, and work more effectively with our Board. Andy's "Leadership MRI" provided me with a wealth of information and insight into specific areas I needed to develop to lead more effectively … I'd recommend Andy as a coach to new and emerging CIOs and CTOs, as well as to experienced CIOs who want to elevate their leadership game to a much higher level.”
Nick Smith - CIO @ Alinta Energy
CIO-specific coaching focus areas
Every engagement is tailored. But across my CIO client work, the coaching consistently addresses four high-leverage areas:
Executive presence and board relationships
Most CIOs are technically capable and well-regarded by their teams. The constraint is almost never competence — it's influence. We work on how you show up with the CEO, the board, and peer executives; how your intentions translate into their perceptions; and how to build the kind of strategic trust that earns you the investment and autonomy your agenda needs.
The IT shift from cost-centre to revenue driver
If your board still sees IT as a cost centre, that's a leadership problem before it's a communication problem. We work on the narrative, the metrics, and the relationships that move you from "keeping the lights on" to "shaping the future of the firm."
Digital transformation traction
Transformation programs stall when the CIO relies on authority or trust they don't fully have. We work on building cross-functional coalitions, governance models, and leadership behaviours that create momentum without mandate.
Leadership effectiveness — measured, not assumed
I use the Leadership Circle Profile — a 360-degree assessment I call the Leadership MRI — to surface the specific patterns limiting your effectiveness. For most CIOs, the insights are both confronting and clarifying. We build from there.
What Clients are Saying: “Andy’s coaching helped me grow in my role as CIO…”
“…giving me valuable leadership techniques to apply to challenging situations… helping me to identify and prioritise the highest value activities”
Alastair Latimer - CIO @ Guild Group
The CIO Coaching Process
The structure follows my 6-Stage Tech Leadership Coaching Roadmap, adapted to the CIO context.
A typical engagement runs six months — fortnightly 90-minute sessions, moving to monthly as momentum builds. We start with a discovery session to establish your specific inflection point and define what success looks like. The Leadership MRI follows, providing the diagnostic baseline. From there, every session is grounded in your real-world challenges, not theory.
The process is built around one principle: your leadership effectiveness is defined by what your key stakeholders — the CEO, the board, your peers, your team — experience of your leadership. We keep that as the measure throughout.
What Clients are Saying: “Andy’s coaching helped me grow in my role as CIO…”
“…giving me valuable leadership techniques to apply to challenging situations… helping me to identify and prioritise the highest value activities”
Alastair Latimer - CIO @ Guild Group
I limit my practice to only six clients at a time, focusing on each person’s unique goals.
