Ask HN: I'm an SRE. What's My Path to CTO?

I've worked in IT operations for around 5 years and currently work as a Site Reliability Engineer for a small company (120 people). I have a degree in Business Administration, but never really used it. I love technical work and feel that I'm a little above average as far as understanding technical concepts and applying them. I feel that I have broad vision for long-term improvements.

Now I'm looking toward the future (10 years out) and trying to determine which path to pursue. The CTO route seems rather appealing, but I don't know enough about it. I'm interested in continuing to work for small businesses (100 - 500 employees).

- Do I need more formal education? - Do I need more well rounded experience? (e.g. development, sales, etc). - What can I do today and tomorrow to move my career in the "C-level" direction? - What responsibilities and challenges does a CTO have that I might be overlooking when considering this path? - Has anyone here followed such a path? (from IT operations to CTO)

Thanks in advance!