CIO & IT Director Recruitment Agency
Licorne Society helps companies hire their IT leadership: CIOs and IT Directors, on a permanent or fractional basis.
5/5 · 206 Google reviews More than 200 startups, scale-ups and digital companies have hired their IT leadership with Licorne Society.
Testimonials
They trusted the Licorne Society team with their IT hiring
We worked with Licorne Society on several roles. Their service covered helping us define our needs, sourcing and shortlisting candidates, and managing the process right through to the hire. The candidates they put forward were relevant, and the consultants (Léa and Malo) were very responsive, with a genuine sense of client service. The collaboration led to a hire. Throughout the process, I also saw that candidates were well looked after, with excellent follow-up from the agency.
We brought in Licorne Society during our technology transformation, when we needed to hire new TECH skills across several areas: Product, Delivery, QA, Engineering. Not only were they very responsive, they also put forward the candidates who best matched the brief. Of the 4 agencies we worked with, Licorne Society had the highest success rate. Well done!
Lots of complex hires in a short space of time. Strong, high-quality candidates presented and shortlisted. Friendly people who understand the brief very well and are always available. We recommend them.
Our typical CIO and IT Director profiles for your company's needs
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SME / mid-sized company CIO
- The company's first information systems leader, able to structure IT from A to Z
- A hybrid of strategy and operations, comfortable with small teams and vendors
- Business-minded, aligning IT with operational needs
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Large corporate CIO
- 15+ years' experience in senior IT department roles
- Able to manage a substantial budget, teams and a project portfolio
- Expert in IT governance and at ease with the executive committee
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Fractional / interim CIO
- Senior leader available at short notice for a one-off assignment
- Ideal for structuring the information system, or leading a cloud migration, an ERP overhaul or a compliance programme
- A sensible alternative ahead of a permanent hire
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Security & compliance-focused CIO
- Solid command of risk governance and regulatory frameworks (NIS2, DORA, GDPR)
- Able to deal with auditors, regulators and key accounts
- Particularly sought after in finance, healthcare and sensitive sectors
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Infrastructure & cloud-focused CIO
- Comfortable with cloud architectures, Infrastructure as Code and FinOps
- Able to lead a cloud migration and optimise IT costs and performance
- A strong fit for scale-ups and highly automated environments
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Industrial / multi-site IT Director
- Manages an information system spread across several sites, plants or subsidiaries
- Comfortable with OT/IT environments and production continuity
- Sought after in industry, logistics and retail
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IT Manager
- Day-to-day management of the information system, support and technical teams
- The CIO's right hand, or the first IT lead in growing organisations
- Often a stepping stone to a CIO role
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Data & AI-focused CIO
- Scales up the internal use of generative AI and copilots
- Leads data governance and compliance (AI Act, GDPR)
- Sought after when data and AI become productivity levers
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Scale-up / hypergrowth CIO
- Builds an information system that can keep pace with rapid growth
- Balances technical debt, scalability and time-to-market
- Comfortable with cloud-native and SaaS environments
Our CIO and IT Director recruitment expert
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André Farah
- COO and co-founder of the Licorne Society recruitment platform. 🦄
- Former Operations Strategy, Management and Supply Chain consultant at Argon & Co. 🚀
- Expert in recruiting and structuring IT leadership and IT teams at startups, scale-ups and large corporates. 🖥️
Our team of specialist Tech and IT recruitment consultants can support you on every information systems leadership role.
Recruiting a CIO
Hiring a CIO or IT Director is a strategic decision for any organisation whose performance depends on its information system.
With digital transformation, the rise of artificial intelligence, cloud migration, regulatory pressure (NIS2, DORA, AI Act) and the need to align IT with the business, IT leadership has become a key function. AI is now reshaping the role: the CIO must scale up the internal use of generative AI and copilots, secure and govern the data that feeds them, and weigh up investments between productivity gains and risk control. Leaders who combine strategy, technology and management are rare and in high demand.
What we do
quickly find the best information systems leaders on the market, on a permanent, fractional or interim basis
Why us?
- A command of IT challenges at every stage of maturity and in every sector.
- A powerful network of CIOs, IT Directors and IT managers, from the first IT leader at an SME to the group CIO.
- In-depth knowledge of the infrastructure, governance and transformation topics that shape the role.
This makes Licorne Society the go-to partner for recruiting your IT leadership, on permanent and freelance contracts, in France and abroad ⭐
A 3.0 recruitment agency specialising in CIO and IT Director searches
- 01
A community of IT talent
Licorne Society has more than 4,500 active job seekers registered on its platform.
- 02
Deep expertise in IT leadership
For every brief, our team finds, approaches and screens the best information systems leaders in the ecosystem.
- 03
A unique sourcing technology
100% tailored to each role and to your target, combining artificial intelligence and automation.
How our CIO recruitment service works
- 1
Scoping your needs
We (really) take the time to understand.
- 2
Targeted sourcing
We quickly tap into our network of more than 50,000 professionals, and approach directly the candidates who are not in it yet.
- 3
Screening the best candidates
We take the time to call every relevant candidate to understand their background and aspirations.
- 4
Shortlist within a few days
You receive a list of qualified candidates who are available and interested.
DSI, CIO, CTO: what are the differences?
These titles cover closely related but distinct roles.
- DSI (Directeur des Systèmes d'Information)
- the traditional French title for the head of the internal information system.
- CIO (Chief Information Officer)
- the English-language equivalent, dominant in international groups and scale-ups, with a more strategic flavour.
- CTO (job profile in French)
- the head of the technology behind the product the company sells, not to be confused with the DSI, who runs IT in service of the organisation.
Depending on your context, the CIO reports to the CEO, the executive team or the finance department. We help you define this reporting line before launching the search.
How do you recruit a CIO?
Hiring an information systems leader means defining the need precisely before launching the search. The key steps:
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Define the scope for your context
a hands-on CIO to lay the IT foundations, or a managerial CIO to lead an existing department and budget.
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Target the right sector experience
a CIO's challenges in finance (DORA), healthcare, industry or retail vary widely. Sector and regulatory experience is often decisive.
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Source in a scarce market
the best profiles are rarely actively looking, so a direct approach (in French) is essential.
Whether you are an SME, a mid-sized company, a scale-up or a large corporate going through a transformation, landing this key hire takes a structured search. For support, talk to our Executive Search team.
To benchmark a CIO's pay against other IT roles, see our IT salary guide (in French).
Resources & related pages
Further reading on recruiting your IT leadership
To help define your needs, see our job profiles for information systems leadership roles (in French):
- CIO / IT Director (Directeur des Systèmes d'Information): oversees infrastructure, business applications, security and IT governance.
- IT Manager: day-to-day management of the information system, often a stepping stone to the CIO role.
Hiring for more technical IT roles (developers, DevOps, Cloud Architect (in French))? See our IT recruitment agency page, which covers all IT roles.
For security leadership (CISO), see our CISO recruitment agency page.
This page is part of our Executive Search and headhunting services, dedicated to hiring executives and C-level leaders.
Ready to hire your CIO?
Frequently asked questions about recruiting a CIO
01 What is the difference between a DSI and a CIO?
What is the difference between a DSI and a CIO?
None: they are two titles for the same role, the head of the information system. DSI (Directeur des Systèmes d'Information) is the French term; CIO (Chief Information Officer) is its English-language equivalent, more common at international groups and scale-ups, and often with a more strategic, digital transformation slant.
02 What is the difference between a CIO and a CTO?
What is the difference between a CIO and a CTO?
The CIO runs the company's internal information system (infrastructure, business applications, security, support). The CTO runs the technology behind the product the company sells. One serves the organisation internally, the other builds what it sells. We help you define this scope before launching the search.
03 Can you recruit a fractional or interim CIO?
Can you recruit a fractional or interim CIO?
Yes. Many SMEs and mid-sized companies do not need a full-time CIO: we also place fractional, interim or freelance CIOs to structure the information system, or to lead a cloud migration, an ERP overhaul or a compliance programme ahead of a permanent in-house hire.
04 What budget should you plan for when hiring a CIO?
What budget should you plan for when hiring a CIO?
A CIO's pay depends heavily on the size of the organisation and the scope of the role: from €70k to €100k at an SME, up to €140k to €180k or more at a large corporate, often with a variable component. We share the market ranges we see with you during the scoping phase.
05 Where can you find CIO candidates?
Where can you find CIO candidates?
The vast majority of good information systems leaders are not actively looking. We identify and approach them directly through our network of more than 50,000 professionals, alongside the candidates registered on our platform.
Our specialities
A specialist recruiter for every need
Executive Search
We help companies find and hire senior executives and C-level leaders.
Learn more Tech & DataTech recruitment
Hire people with strong technical expertise in software development and data, in a highly competitive market.
Learn more Sales & MarketingSales & Marketing recruitment
We help companies structure their Marketing and Sales teams so they can drive the growth of the business.
Learn more OperationsOperations & Finance recruitment
Hire the people who will run and optimise your operations and processes.
Learn moreOur scope
Other roles covered by our services
Our locations
We recruit across the major French tech and digital ecosystems, and support your growth across Europe.