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What Is a Chief Technology Officer CTO? How to Become One, Salary, Skills

Furthermore, the officer has to look for the company’s short and long-term needs and utilize the capital to further the objectives and plans formulated. Strategic thinking and strong business acumen are essential in this role. We expect you to be well-versed in current technological trends and familiar with a variety of business concepts. If you are also an excellent communicator and public speaker, we’d like to meet you. Most of the responsibilities of providing the data architecture center around central and efficient management through, for example, central allocation of licenses and instances or rationalization of systems. Wendy Batchelder, SVP and CDO of Salesforce, explains that these are often quick wins, and that the CFO becomes a great partner in driving the projects.

Chief Technology Officer Roles

It seems the CTO title first gained popularity in the late 1990s, around the time the internet was exploding and the world began to grasp how technology was about to fundamentally alter our existence. Many companies designated a CTO to serve as the technology czar inside IT, charged with ensuring the organization was taking advantage of https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ the latest developments in infrastructure, data centers and network technologies. The CTO often reported to the chief information officer (CIO), which created confusion in IT circles about who did what, exactly. A Chief Technology Officer (sometimes called Chief Technical Officer) is the most skilled technology person in the company.

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A lot of scheduling is done along with a product manager who compiles a product roadmap. Often considered the company’s tech guru or the smartest programmer in the room, the title of CTO alone indicates that the company is doing something big with technology. While each type of CTO can be successful, it is crucial to identify quickly which approach will work best within a particular company. Depending on the organizational structure, CTOs can report to various other C-level executives.

Chief Technology Officer Roles

They meet with executives to discuss the company’s current financial stability, business opportunities and other news. They also meet with operations personnel and IT Managers to strategize ways to implement new technology systems throughout the company. Knowing everything about technology will not help very much if you cannot communicate effectively when talking to stakeholders. Conversely, being a great public speaker will not save you if you need to explain heavy tech knowledge to a team of IT specialists.

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We are seeking someone who can implement the best practices and processes necessary for us to continue to build the most efficient and high-performing systems that enable us to provide industry-leading solutions for our clients. In business, the area of product development is encouraging innovation, while building new and developing technology products for customers. The CTO’s is the public face of the technology team, so should be indicating how this technology can make their customer’s lives better.

Chief Technology Officer Roles

GDP in 2020; there are over 585,000 technology companies in the U.S.; and tech employees earn 85% more than those in other industries(1). The list of statistics to back the tech industry as a leader in the job market is evident. Further, the chief technology officer (CTO) position is a demanding role that many companies value to establish themselves as leaders in their industries.

CTO Responsibilities include:

Since a CTO should solve engineering problems, a solid development background is required. In this article, we do not take a position on how these two roles should be distinguished from each other. Instead, we take the view that any large product-based company today must have someone at a CXO level who is explicitly responsible for understanding how emerging technologies will affect its customers and products.

We are looking for a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to provide sound technical leadership in all aspects of our business. You will communicate with employees, stakeholders and customers to ensure our company’s technologies are used appropriately. ITHACA, NEW YORK, Sept. 20, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SimpliFed, the virtual maternal health leader in lactation support, no matter how you feed your baby, announced today that Gajen Sunthara will join the organization as its new Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Sunthara brings over two decades of healthcare technology cloud service cto responsibilities experience to the lactation services health tech platform, and will help build the platform itself, as well as SimpliFed products and technology. We are looking for a creative technical leader who has working experience with preferably the construction or mechanical industry in products and services for sustainable urban infrastructure planning and development. The CTO will be responsible for leading the ideation and development of innovative and differentiating technical and engineering solutions that support the business strategy.

Learn about technology

A chief technology officer is a high-ranking executive-level position in a company, part of the senior-level, “c-suite.” So applicants may need more than 15 years of experience in the IT field before being considered for a CTO job. As our Chief Technology Officer (CTO) you will be a key member of the senior management team and partner with senior leaders to design and implement a technology vision that is aligned with the interests of the business and ensures the full support for all operations. Data products are applications that are developed and managed by the CDO to provide the right data of the right quality at the right moment for a specific business process.

They provide leadership to groups that include enterprise architects, innovation managers, expert technology specialists, shared IT services. However, more recently, the expectations and job description of a CTO have changed; and they have become more externally focused on technology propositions for customers. In a world driven by increasing developments and advancements in technology, your business’s ability to maintain a competitive advantage rests on the quality of your technology leadership. Usually, “technology leadership” revolves around the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). More important to the role than in-depth technical knowledge of hardware and code might be the ability to leverage advanced technologies (AI, big data and machine learning, for example) to set a strategic course for a company. After all, a CTO applies all their technical knowledge, builds the strategy, and deals with business processes to create and enhance the final product.

What Is a Chief Technology Officer (CTO)?

General Dynamics’ IT services business unit has hired a new chief growth officer in Paul Tartaglione, who joins that team after 24 years at Booz Allen Hamilton. Building a multi-purpose data asset/platform such as the “Customer 360” asset requires a significant budget and usually has a long development time (one to three years, depending on the business). In most businesses, the proliferation of data has led to a proliferation of systems, practices, and policies. Accordingly, it is one of the CDO’s core responsibilities to manage the data architecture and governance — what we consider the third sphere of influence. Regardless of the size, type, or maturity of the organisation, the CTO should be the most senior technology role in the business. They should hold a senior executive role, and report directly to the CEO.

  • If you’re planning to employ such a person on your C-level team, look for them among the following roles.
  • Upskilling also creates local champions that ensure the embeddedness and adoption of data products in their business units.
  • The CTO represents the external face of a company, which requires them to have an open and engaged relationship with vendors, customers, investors and partners.
  • The CTO role naturally requires a strong knowledge of various technologies, and “real technology acumen, especially in the architecture, software, and technology strategy areas to address legacy technology challenges,” Stephenson says.
  • We are looking for an enthusiastic teammate with a technical background, but a bias for commercial execution.
  • Additionally, he needs to comprehend technology growth and trends and keep the company’s objectives in line with technology.
  • Having an ecosystem of partnerships is a great way to de-risk and accelerate innovation.

The reason being that technology is more than just costs or marketing, it is a holistic role that enables and boosts business performance. Chief Technology Officers need to hire, build, grow, and develop high-performing technical teams. Building a culture where technical people can thrive and build their careers. The role of the Chief Technology Officer is complicated, and every CTO will have their own unique strengths to bring to the table. But one thing is for sure, they need to have their finger on the “technological pulse,” and remain aware of new trends and technologies that could disrupt their business. With tech companies now among the largest businesses in the world, CTOs are some of the most influential and innovative people, those that shape how we live and work.

CTO duties and responsibilities

Most CTOs undergo training throughout their careers in IT departments, and they might also earn certifications in development, programming, database administration, or other related fields. “The role of the CTO continues to evolve,” says Craig Stephenson, managing director for the North America Technology Officers Practice at organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry. As such, CTOs are among the most important hires organizations are making today, and it can be challenging finding the right person who possesses all the right skills. If the analysis is positive, the project moves on into development; otherwise, CTOs, together with other relevant stakeholders across departments and maybe management, determine which features can be cut with the least amount of impact. But the responsibilities and role of the CTO also depend on the company. There are typically four different kinds of CTOs, whose main duties may differ.

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