WHAT TITLE?

The title of Chief Information Officer is relatively new to the lexicon. That has not prevented U.S. CIOs from usurping wads of power from other minions to the CEO throughout corporate America in short order. Latin CIOs, however, have yet to come to age. A Gallup survey sponsored by Xerox shows that despite their titles, many info execs in the region are screwdriver-toting schleppers rather than high-powered decision makers. "Are these guys really CIOs or are they techies?" says Pat Martin, Xerox's international head. "Well, they are techies. The question is, can they become executives?"

                              JOB IS MAINLY   GAINING
                    FOUR OR   TECHNICAL, NOT INFLUENCE       CONTROLS
                   MORE YEARS  STRATEGIC OR   WITHIN   BUDGET [greater than]
          MEAN AGE UNIVERSITY   MANAGERIAL    COMPANY       US$500,000
ARGENTINA    38       75%          57%          34%             31%
BRAZIL       35       63%          73%          18%             21%
CHILE        38       87%          56%          40%             26%
COLOMBIA     33       87%          60%          23%             19%
MEXICO       35       85%          63%          31%             24%
VENEZUELA    35       77%          63%          25%             28%
           AUTHORIZED TO    BELIEVES
           MAKE PURCHASES   COMPANY'S
            OVER $5,000    SYSTEMS ARE
          WITHOUT APPROVAL  ADEQUATE
ARGENTINA       34%            40%
BRAZIL          21%            24%
CHILE           32%            34%
COLOMBIA        36%            29%
MEXICO          33%            32%
VENEZUELA       30%            24%
SOURCES: Xerox/Gallup.