"We need someone from our industry."

We hear this a lot when we are working on senior technology roles. As an IT recruitment agency in Ireland focused on IT leadership and senior appointments, it's probably the single most common line on a CIO or Head of Technology brief.

Sometimes it makes complete sense. But sometimes we are not sure it does, and in the current Irish market it can quietly rule out the very people best placed to do the job.

When Industry Experience Really Does Matter

Let's be clear: there are times when having been there before is essential. In Ireland, that usually comes down to three things:

• Regulation: financial services firms operating under Central Bank of Ireland supervision and DORA, or essential entities under NIS2, need leaders who understand what regulators expect and how quickly things escalate.
• Specialist environments: pharma and medtech manufacturing, with validated systems and strict quality controls, is a world of its own. So are clinical and patient data environments in healthcare.
• Deep domain systems: some roles sit on top of platforms so particular to a sector (core banking, trading, energy grid operations) that ramp-up time carries real risk.

In those cases, industry experience isn't a comfort blanket. It's a genuine requirement, and we'll say so.

When It Becomes a Filter Rather Than a Requirement

The problem starts when "industry experience" gets added to every brief by default.

You can have a candidate who has led a similar sized technology function, managed comparable budgets, built the teams and delivered almost exactly what the business is looking to do. But they've done it in a different industry. And that alone can be enough to rule them out.

In my experience, industry experience often becomes a requirement simply because it feels safer. It's an easy box to tick and an easy decision to defend. But safer for the hiring panel isn't always better for the business.

Ireland's Talent Market Can't Afford Narrow Shortlists

The Irish data makes the case for looking wider. EY Ireland's 2026 Tech Leaders' Outlook Survey of 150 CIOs and CTOs found:

Source: EY Ireland [1]

That's a leadership market under real pressure. More than eight in ten Irish technology leaders are investing in AI, and the capability gap to deliver on it is growing. Broader surveys point the same way: ManpowerGroup found 83% of Irish employers describe the talent market as challenging [2], and globally 72% of employers report difficulty filling roles, with 18% now actively targeting new talent pools in response [3].

Against that backdrop, ruling out a proven technology leader because their last employer was in a different sector is a costly habit. It shrinks an already small pool, lengthens the search and can push salaries up as clients compete for the same handful of "sector-perfect" candidates.

What an Outside Leader Brings

I've always found it interesting that bringing someone in from outside your industry is so often seen as a risk, rather than a potential advantage.

• Different ways of doing things. A CIO from retail may have run customer data and digital channels at a pace that a more traditional sector hasn't tried yet.
• Different problems. A technology leader from manufacturing may bring a discipline around operational resilience and uptime that a services business can learn from.
• Different mistakes. They have likely made errors in their own sector that your business can now avoid.

Of course, there's a learning curve. But I'd argue there's a learning curve walking into any new business at that level. A CIO joining a direct competitor still has to learn a new culture, new stakeholders, a new board and a new technology estate. Industry knowledge shortens one part of that curve, not all of it.

How an IT Recruitment Agency in Ireland Assesses Transferable Leadership

When our recruitment consultants in Dublin work on a senior technology search, we try to move clients from sector-based questions to problem-based ones. A simple reframe helps:

A good brief separates the non-negotiables (for example, direct DORA experience for a regulated bank) from the preferences. That single step can widen the pool of credible candidates considerably, without lowering the bar.

Industry Knowledge or Problem-Solving Ability?

Maybe the better question is whether you're hiring someone who knows your industry, or someone who knows how to solve the problem you've got. The best appointments usually get this balance right: sector knowledge where the risk genuinely demands it, and openness everywhere else.

I'm curious what others think on this one. How important is industry experience when you're hiring a CIO or senior technology leader?

If you're planning a senior technology hire and want to test your brief before going to market, talk to TRC. As an IT recruitment company in Ireland with a dedicated IT leadership and executive search practice, we help clients widen the search without lowering the standard.

About The Recruitment Company - Ireland

The Recruitment Company (TRC) is a specialist IT recruitment agency in Ireland, based in Dublin. We provide permanent, contract and executive search across IT infrastructure and cloud, software development, cybersecurity, data and AI, and IT leadership recruitment in Ireland, working with clients across the Irish market and internationally.

Sources

1. EY Ireland, Tech Leaders' Outlook Survey 2026: survey of 150 Irish CIOs and CTOs, March to April 2026, published June 2026. https://www.ey.com/en_ie/newsroom/2026/06/skills-shortages-top-constraint-for-irish-tech-leaders-ai-cyber-concerns
2. ManpowerGroup Ireland, Talent Shortage Report 2025: Irish employer findings. https://www.manpower.ie/blog/2025/02/talent-shortages-report-ireland-2025
3. ManpowerGroup, 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey: 39,063 employers across 41 countries, February 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-talent-shortage-reaches-turning-point-as-ai-skills-claim-top-spot-302698509.html