As hospitals and health systems accelerate their digital transformation efforts, many are confronting a silent but growing leadership gap: the absence of succession planning for CIOs.
CIOs have become vital to the success of health systems, overseeing AI adoption, cybersecurity defense and IT transformation initiatives. But while the role has expanded significantly, the path to leadership in healthcare IT remains unclear for many rising executives.
A 2024 survey from healthcare executive search firm WittKieffer found that 53% of current healthcare CIOs have assumed their roles within the past three years — signaling a high turnover rate among tech leaders in the sector. Despite this volatility, only 39% of organizations reported having a CIO succession plan, while 25% had no plan at all and another 36% were still developing one.
That turnover is evident in the leadership makeup of some of the nation’s largest health systems. A Becker’s analysis of 10 major U.S. systems — including Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health and St. Louis-based Ascension — shows that while some CIOs have held their roles for more than seven years, the average tenure among these leaders is just under three and a half years, with most appointments occurring since 2022.
The problem isn’t always a lack of talent — it’s often a lack of intentional development. WittKieffer’s survey also found that 53% of CIOs cite talent development as one of their greatest challenges. Although 87% of organizations outsource fewer than 25% of IT functions, few have structured internal pipelines to cultivate digital leadership.
