Witnessing the radical changes in business environment and the innovative progress in technology today, organizations are increasing their investment in information technology (IT) and taking more interest in people in charge of information systems (IS) departments. The roles of IS leaders are changing, so that they need not only technical expertise, but also managerial skills and visionary leadership. This article provides a better understanding on the changing roles of IS executives especially in light of leadership skills and personality characteristics. A research model and hypotheses to be tested are presented. The methodology for the proposed study encompasses both micro and macro views in that it focuses on the individual Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the organization, along with the impact of changes in IT on that individual, and the impact of the behavior of the individual on the organization's overall performance. Leadership behavior, personality characteristics, and IS executives' effectiveness will be measured using questionnaires. (Author/AEF)