As noted in my April article, Boardroom Tactics article, it isn’t exactly commonplace for CIOs to hold a seat on their companies’ board of directors. Frankly, it’s not obvious that many CIOs are getting a spot on boards at other companies, either. The best I could come up with in a Web recent search was finding former CIOs—generally separated from their IT days by one or more executive business roles—who were getting elected to board-level spots. For example, in April, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. named retired CEO and head of JPMorgan Treasury Services, Lori Hricik, as one of its new, non-participant directors. It was way back in the ’90s that she held the title of CIO for Chase’s Global Services Sector.

This doesn’t mean you should give up hope of building your credentials and professional development by striving for a seat on a board of directors. Smart Enterprise Exchange member, Sandra Hoffman, (who is CIO-in-Residence at the Advanced Technology Development Center, part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech), pointed out in a response to the article that lots of non-profit organizations seek IT talent in building their own infrastructure. Many of these organizations will find CIOs to be a welcome addition to the board.

Indeed, I’m pleased to hear back from Alastair Behenna, CIO of U.K.-based staffing and recruiting firm Harvey Nash plc., who is also a member of the Exchange. Alastair was looking into several opportunities when I wrote the story. He now tells me that in July, he is planning to take a non-executive role with a British non-profit organization; (names can’t be disclosed yet, but he says he’ll be assisting “to ratify an IT strategy that is 'long overdue.'”)

Where else might your talents be appreciated? How about looking to tech companies? It should come as no surprise that IT companies are among those that ‘get’ how useful it is to have someone with IT leadership credentials on their boards. Technology services provider NCR, for example, has on its board Robert P. DeRodes, Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Technology of First Data Corp., which provides E-commerce and payment services. Robert, you may remember, is also the former CIO of Home Depot—no lightweight when it comes to IT experience.

Tech companies know that IT executives bring expertise -- not only to explore and challenge IT investments and internal IT management, but as a representative of the target customer they want to serve. You can be a big asset in informing their sales strategy based on your insights into the marketplace and your perspective as an IT business consumer.

Let us know if you’re exploring options for a board seat– or otherwise directing your IT skills to help non-competitive organizations or non-profits—and how it’s going. Do experiences vary geographically? Let us know your thoughts on this topic.