The technology landscape has changed dramatically over the past three decades. Organisations encounter extreme difficulty in managing their core capabilities which are enabled by technology. In light of this, organisations require strategic individuals who can continually carry the organisation to the new s-curve which will afford them the competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to assist the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and the c-level suite executives to effectively and appropriately position the CTO in an orgainsation. This will prevent Chief Information Officer (CIO) / CTO distortion and ensure that the CTO is being evaluated fairly. The findings of academics, as is evident in the literature review, underscore the essence of my finding that the position of the CTO in an organisation is not fully understood. The researcher has revised the current CTO models to develop the new ‘CTO TIE model’. This research highlights the viewpoint that the positioning of the CTO role will be influenced by two key variables; whether the CTO reports to the CIO or CEO? and whether the company is internally or externally technology focused? Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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ABSTRACT The role of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) within higher education is essential, though not well defined or understood. At all levels of the institution a CIO/CTO impacts the information technology (IT) systems required for the security and the ability of the college or university to operate and to support student success. Institutions of higher education are dependent on the IT department for college-issued computers, for software services, for library functioning, and for driving innovation to keep the college competitive for enrollment and student success. Although the CIO role is essential to a higher education institution’s functioning, scholars report CIOs may not have access to the level of decision making that may be in the best interests of the college. Prior studies indicate a disconnect between the strategic (proactive) role and the tactical (reactive) role of IT personnel within higher education organizations and note that the disconnect hinders the ability of the organization to perform at a high level and serve its purpose. The purpose of this mixed method descriptive case study was to explore the positioning and roles of community college CIOs/CTOs within individual colleges’ strategic planning process and across the college system in a southern state. The study used a modified version of the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQ) and interviews with all CIOs in the southern state’s community college system. The STQ results indicate the CIOs are positioned to achieve organizational effectiveness and what is best for their individual college through IT services and support. The interviews confirmed that CIOs were positioned well for strategic planning at the institutions to achieve what is best for the college through IT services and support.