Transformer in chief’: The new chief digital officer

In the alphabet soup that is today’s crowded C-suite, few roles attract as much attention as that of the chief digital officer, or CDO. While the position isn’t exactly new, what’s required of the average CDO is. Gone are the days of being responsible for introducing basic digital capabilities and perhaps piloting a handful of initiatives. The CDO is now a “transformer in chief,” charged with coordinating and managing comprehensive changes that address everything from updating how a company works to building out entirely new businesses. And he or she must make progress quickly.

Given these demands, it’s not surprising that the number of people in CDO roles doubled from 2013 to 2014 and is expected to double again this year.¹ We find that companies bring in a CDO for two primary reasons. The first is when they need to approach the complex root causes that must be dissected, understood, and addressed before any substantive progress on digitization can be made. And the second is when the CEO realizes the organization can’t meet the primary challenge of creating integrated transformation within its current construct (see sidebar, “Do you need a CDO?”).

In fact, the true measure of a CDO’s success is when the role becomes unnecessary: by its very nature, a high-functioning digital company does not need a CDO (however, it may want its former CDO to be the CEO). Of course, the vast majority of organizations are not yet at that point. And while there are numerous actions companies can and should take to help these executives work themselves out of a job—such as providing sufficient resources and active CEO support—this article focuses on five areas CDOs themselves must get right if their organizations are to successfully transition to digital. Read More…