The perception of CIOs is evolving from managers of back-office systems to executives with knowledge of business processes.

While very few CIOs sit on the boards of directors of the world's largest companies, 75% of global executives believe CIOs have a role to play on those boards, according to a new study released this week by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.

The online survey of more than 2,000 executives, in a number of top-level positions from a variety of industries, found that 46% believe CIOs 'absolutely' have a role to play on a company's board of directors, and 29% say they 'somewhat' believe CIOs have a role to play on such boards. Only 3% say 'not at all' when asked whether they believe CIOs have a role to play on the board.

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It's likely that more CIOs will be seriously considered for board membership as the perception of their role evolves from that of managers focused primarily on regulatory compliance, back-end operations like E-mail and document storage, and administration, to that of executives who understand business processes and the competitive environment and who provide companies with a competitive advantage, says Richard Spitz, global managing director of Korn/Ferry's Technology Market.

In the Korn/Ferry online survey,