The Rise of the Chief Digital Officer

There’s a new seat at the C-Suite table – the Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Attolon’s recent market research revealed how this role is moving companies forward and talked to candidates who were responsible for launching automated fulfillment centers, creating digital and point-of-sale consumer products, and reducing capital and operating expenses. The CDO is the facilitator across many departments within an organization to position the business for success in the digital age.

For many CEOs, the pandemic accelerated digital transformation by months or even years, improving operating models, developing new revenue streams, and creating seamless customer experiences. While the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Chief Marketing Officer have long been essential members of the C-Suite, the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) has taken a seat at the table. Attolon Partners' recent market research revealed the pivotal role the Chief Digital Officer plays in driving companies’ futures.
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The Chief Information Officer is internally facing, aligning operations and technology applications with strategy.
The Chief Technology Officer applies technology to add to or enhanceproducts and services for the end-user and promote business growth.
The Chief Marketing Officer oversees the company’s marketing and advertising initiatives, which have increasingly become digitized.

The Chief Digital Officer is the facilitator, connecting the CIO and CTO to Marketing, developing a powerhouse of data and tools to optimize internal efficiency, create an amazing customer experience, and increase revenue. During a recent Chief Technology Officer search for a $250M healthcare business, Attolon vetted nearly 300 potential candidates from all types of middle market companies for the role, many of whom also possess the qualities of a CDO. These candidates were responsible for launching automated fulfillment centers, creating digital and point-of-sale consumer products, reducing capital and operating expenses, and managing hundreds of employees, vendors, and clients.
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Across multiple industries, several middle market companies in the Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. areas have CDOs. These executives are charged with incorporating cloud computing, AI, machine learning, automation, and the Internet of Things to create customer value and better enable workforce innovation and execution. Neel Adhya, CDO at BlackRock, explains the role as a blend of discovering “new ways of engaging with customers” and “a new way of working — more agile, more data-driven, and much more experimental.”

A strong Chief Digital Officer can strategically position a business to thrive in the digital age, ensuring its long-term success.
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“Whatever analytics or automation you want to get to, you need to have good, clean data,” said Mike Uwe Dickersbach, Chief Digital Officer and Technology Strategist for Highgate, a premier hospitality investment and management company operating in the U.S. and abroad.

If your organization is in the market for a CDO, contact Attolon Partners at info@attolon.com.