The Chief Digital Officer is in charge of the organization’s whole digital domain. Because this is a role that is heavily reliant on marketing, prior experience in the sector is very advantageous. In many circumstances, the Chief Digital Officer reports to the Chief Marketing Officer in order to maintain collaboration between the two departments that are not separate.
Chief Digital may handle a variety of tasks inside the firm, including application development, web interface design, social media content, sponsored marketing, search engine optimisation, and more. If you believed this was solely a job for technology companies, you were mistaken. Digital is a crucial tool for any firm, and as a result, this area evolves, changes, and takes on various forms in each organization.
Chief Digital’s realm is where the firm meets its customers and produces profit on digital media.
So what does Chief Technologies do? The position holder focuses on the technological needs of the organization in order to meet the organization’s goals in the short and long term. His role includes research, development, trend identification, and addressing all technological needs. And here, too, it is important to emphasize that this is not a role that exists solely in significant technology companies. Every company today is assisted by technology, and Chief Technologies is designed to ensure that the company knows how to identify the right technologies for it and make the right use of them. These could be the technologies used in the production line or the technologies that the company uses to communicate with customers. In small organizations, the role can have an operational expression, but the larger the organization, the more it can be expected that this will be a role that is more related to the strategic development of the company.
Both roles operate within a world of rapidly changing technologies. In both it is necessary to have a hand on the pulse, and always keep up to date with market trends and advanced technologies.
What background do they bring with them?
Chief technologies usually come from the fields of computer science, programming, information systems, and cyber security. Every organization may need a little different specialization. But since this is a field that requires strategic vision and business understanding, there is a clear advantage for those who also have degrees in business administration.
Chief Digital requires an understanding of marketing in general, as well as expertise in digital marketing. Today, educational institutions provide digital strategy studies that give a solution to the essential professional expertise. In addition to technical competence, the Chief Digital Officer must have excellent communication skills and a desire to collaborate with various departments within the firm, particularly the marketing department. Finally, we must remember that things are not black and white. Each company has its own set of requirements, and applicants may bring with them professional experience from other organisations.
