The Class of 2010

The question is not whether the CIO position has a bright future (it does) but what the job description will be. To a large extent, that's up to today's CIOs. Thornton May, a futurist with the Centre for Advancing Business Through IT at Arizona State University, offers one possibility: CIOs at smart enterprises will become "chief innovation officers". They'll use technology, as Bernauer has at Walgreens, to change how business is done. Or they'll create new, high-value products and services.

"Great CIOs are good at triaging opportunities," says May. ViewSonic's Moon agrees, saying: "The CEO and the CIO have to be the two people who are innovators in the corporation, who can tell people to change the business process" to take advantage of new technology. Or they'll manage the complex networks that bind huge conglomerates, the "unbundled" corporation of the future.

The challenge for CIOs now, says Paul Saffo, director for the Institute for the Future, is to tell their story. CIOs have a "huge opportunity to finally become central in the business", says Saffo. "This is the CIO's opportunity to lose."

Faces to Watch

Right now, these CIOs are defining the job for the future .

• JOHN LEGGATE, CIO, British Petroleum

  An innovator who has helped transform BP's global business processes, Leggate plays a big part in the company's decision making on environmental policy. His current role, combined with his extensive business experience, would qualify him for the CEO slot, even though those who know him say that isn't his ambition. But CIOs who aspire to the top spot would be well-advised to study Leggate's career trajectory.

• GENE BATCHELDER, CIO, Senior Vice President of Services, ConocoPhillips

  Batchelder is a multiple-threat executive, running procurement, financial services and facilities along with IT. While it's unusual today to find a CIO with such broad responsibilities, this is the future for those CIOs bold enough to risk looking beyond IT.

• MARC GORDON, Executive Vice President and CIO, Best Buy

  Gordon is in charge of logistics for the national retailer - clearly a key role. His position is one indicator that CIOs are poised to take on those critical business functions that have a strong IT component.