With global IT spending expected to top trillions annually and software delivery cycles shortening from months to weeks, technology leadership operates in a climate of relentless scale and pressure. The role of the Chief Technology Officer is no longer limited to overseeing engineering teams or managing infrastructure. It demands strategic foresight, the ability to anticipate market shifts, and the resilience to guide organizations through growth and disruption. As he puts it, “A big part of the role of the CTO is to manage the overall strategy and vision for the tech part of the company,” says John Campbell Crighton, a technology leader with over two decades of experience driving transformation across industries from healthcare and finance to energy and enterprise technology. His perspective on leadership and growth provides valuable lessons for CTOs navigating the challenges of scale and innovation.
Defining Strategic Vision in Technology Leadership
For John, strategic vision is less about reacting to the immediate pressures of scaling companies and more about laying the groundwork for long-term resilience. “Strategic vision is about anticipating the industry trends and investing in the personnel and the architecture necessary to support those trends over time,” he says. John emphasizes that while technology itself evolves rapidly, the foundation of execution always comes back to people. “Your ability to execute on that vision depends on the team that you’ve got in place,” he says. Whether working with multinational teams or collaborating with external partners, John underscores that no one is more committed to success than employees who are embedded in the company’s mission.
This people-first approach has guided his leadership of development teams exceeding 100 engineers, QA specialists, and Product Owners, where he consistently focused on empowering individuals with opportunities to grow. “All good tech people fundamentally love to learn and love to take on new things and new projects,” says Crighton. “Providing that open environment where they can try new things and expand their knowledge base is what keeps employees engaged.”
Navigating Growth and Operational Complexity
Scaling an early-stage company or an established enterprise inevitably exposes weak spots in both process and technology. One of the greatest challenges CTOs face is maintaining focus: growth brings many new opportunities, but not all of them are worth pursuing. “There are a lot of rabbit holes you can go down that are not really optimal for the success of the company,” he says.
Drawing from his experience overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets and leading large-scale infrastructure transitions, Crighton advises a measured approach. During a migration to AWS, for instance, integrating diverse perspectives was critical to success. The stakes were significant: uninterrupted uptime, uncompromised data security, and the preservation of customer trust were all at risk. “When you only have one input in terms of how the transition should occur, you often don’t have the full information,” he explains. By engaging multiple vendors and relying on internal expertise, his team not only reduced risk but also ensured a smoother transition that positioned the company for faster releases and improved customer satisfaction. “When you have a team of employees that is charged with maintaining the system continuously, they have a much more vested interest in the long-term outcome.” This balance between external expertise and internal ownership is central to how Crighton manages transformation initiatives.
The Expanding Mandate of the CTO
Expectations for technology leaders have grown dramatically in recent years. Governance, security, compliance, and the acceleration of innovation all fall under the CTO’s purview. “The available technologies, the security requirements, the governance requirements, all those things are continuing to evolve at an even accelerated pace. There’s a lot of pressure on CTOs to keep up with that.” The modern CTO, in his view, must be a lifelong learner, constantly expanding their knowledge to stay ahead of shifting landscapes. Crighton himself has overseen initiatives ranging from API scaling and mobile app delivery to DevOps modernization and AI-powered workflows, often working across global teams to execute at scale.
Unlocking Value Through AI Integration
One of the defining tools of Crighton’s recent work has been the integration of artificial intelligence into both software development and customer-facing platforms. He has overseen implementations where AI has directly impacted efficiency, quality, and user experience. “The two huge ways that AI has helped out are in the development process and on the user side,” Crighton explains. From AI-assisted code reviews and automated testing to AI-driven reporting tools for clinicians, the returns have been immediate. “Pretty much every single area that I’ve just mentioned, we have implemented some sort of AI tool that’s helping to improve our development process and make our development process a lot more efficient. We’re doing more work with the same number of people.”
Just as importantly, AI has created a measurable business impact by improving customer productivity. By reducing workflows that once took hours into processes that take minutes, AI features have become key drivers of client satisfaction and new revenue streams. “AI has just become table stakes for what it takes to have a good software platform.”
Anticipating Tomorrow’s Challenges
Crighton believes that technology leadership today requires more than just technical acumen. It demands a customer-centric mindset that balances immediate needs with long-term trends. “It’s important to have a customer-centric approach to vision, to understand not just what your customers want today, but what they are going to want in the future,” he says.
To follow John Campbell Crighton’s insights on technology leadership and software transformation, connect with him onLinkedIn or visit his website. You can also find him onYouTube.
