Over the last decade the roles and responsibilities of Executives has evolved and requires additional competencies
Reaching the C-suite is a goal for many professionals since becoming an Executive in an organization increases your status, prestige, ability to get things done and have impact, compensation, etc. In addition to having important skills as well as working harder and smarter, there is also a requirement to have strong good look ahead and communications competencies, plus the ability to – collaborate with others effectively, motivate people, meaningfully contribute to good decision making, be good at prioritizing and completing tasks as well as being accountable for results, etc. This requires a certain mindset, the ability to learn fast, the ability to overcome challenges to achieve goals, etc. stemming from rising expectations of Customers, Partners and Employees, plus business and technology opportunities, an industry paradigm shift (ie: Amazon changing retail, etc.), the importance of attracting and retaining top talent, etc.
With the demands rising and the need to develop new competencies and digital capabilities, those in the C-Suite have to be good at anticipating what “ will be needed “ and be accomplished at business and product planning, strategy, etc. – to make innovation more rewarding, be good at managing change and mitigating risk, excellent at execution to achieve the desired objectives, etc. – to create significant new value and meaningfully improve outcomes. This means that a coveted position in the leadership team today is probably different now than 10 years ago, or, may not exist in the future ! This is borne out by research from Deloitte and others that shows how increasing expectations, shorter windows of opportunity, the need for technology / digital competencies, growing business complexity, economic uncertainty, rising security and regulatory demands, and a need for specialized leadership soft and hard skills – that are triggering significant changes in the C-Suite.
The good news for aspiring Executives is that the C-Suite overall is growing in enterprises. Analysis found that, between 2018 and 2023, top leadership teams at Fortune 500 companies grew 23 % on average (from 6.7 executives to 8.2). This has meant that, in addition to long-time titles like CEO and CFO, the titles of Chief Growth Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer, Chief Communications Officer, Chief Legal Officer, etc. are becoming more common.
This trend is occurring in many medium size to large organizations including public and private enterprises, large nonprofits, PE-sponsored businesses, etc. that operate in environments with the need for greater operating performance or increasing sales expectations for Executives to achieve growth on multiple fronts and better manage risk associated with change and innovation.
Companies have discovered that one way to mature and grow in a rapidly changing environment is to effectively collaborate by maximizing interaction between the CEO and other company leaders to fast-track learning with improved and timely decision making that includes those in the C-Suite having –
1. New and More Skills
The number of skills Executives are asked to bring to the table for more established positions (like Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Chief Operating Officer) has increased more than 20 % from 2018 to 2023, according to publicly available C-Suite job posting data. One example of a new skill in high demand for a traditional role : Job searches for CFOs are increasingly listing Business Strategy as a key quality.
2. Digital Competencies
Why ? Because if an organization isn’t advancing their digital services and capabilities, they are on the path to commoditization and irrelevance. Fundamentally, the C-Suite must be instrumental in the organization becoming a technology-based company and being accomplished in creating new value in digital – to drive change and make good on opportunities – or be a victim of it.
3. The Ability to Innovate for Impact
Being good at business innovation to create new value requires developing new services and capabilities with an entrepreneurial mindset and portfolio thinking. If the goal is to meaningfully improve outcomes, it’s important to be digitally oriented and be good at monetizing value creation – to expand opportunities as well as to increase relevance and revenue.
4. Multiple C-Suite Responsibilities are Increasing
It’s no longer rare for an Executive to hold more than one C-Suite position. For example, more CFOs are taking on the COO role. Fortune has begun tracking executive shifts at the Fortune 500 companies and found a growing trend of Executives taking on new or combined roles, like the newly created role of Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Salesforce.
5. The C-Suites Becoming More Varied and Distinct
While most companies are led by a CEO with the CFO as the number two, beyond that titles vary significantly to reflect the business model and operations of the company. Also, not every C-Suite title reflects a top leadership position. Having a ‘Chief X Officer’ title doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the C-Suite. Examples of this are a Chief Compliance Officer reporting to a Chief Legal Officer or a Chief Marketing Officer reporting to a Chief Revenue Officer. Meanwhile, at tech giant Nvidia, CEO Jensen Huang has about 60 direct reports !
6. The Consolidation of Commercial Functions
Roles like Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, and Chief Distribution Officer have all proliferated as a response to the desire to have one Executive with responsibility for all of marketing, sales operations, go-to-market strategy, and business development. With this trend still unfolding, an example is Zoetis, a Fortune 500 company, promoting Jamie Brannan to become its first-ever Chief Commercial Officer.
7. CEOs Taking an Active Role in Risk, Innovation, Security, and Strategic Initiatives
The CEO and those aspiring to leadership positions are participating in new initiatives to expand opportunities and revenue streams, mitigate business risk, etc. to meaningfully improve outcomes. For example, Chief Information Security officers (CISOs) or Chief Innovation Officers are collaborating more with CEOs. From a recent report by Splunk states that 82 % of CISOs surveyed interact directly with the CEO. Also, about 8 out of 10 CISOs participate in board meetings. The same is occurring in many organizations so decision makers are better able to –
- identify and address new opportunities
- better manage change and reduce risk
- create meaningful new value
- have competitive advantage
- attract and retain top talent
- evolve the business model
- improve the bottom line
- increase relevance and revenue
Conclusions
To realize the above significant benefits, being good at leveraging established skills and developing new competencies (especially in digital and strategic thinking) is essential for success.
To learn more, see – www.cail.com/BI , www.cail.com/VI , and other sources – or call CAIL to discuss the considerations to move forward.
April 3, 2025 by Sheryl Estrada / CAIL CAIL Innovation commentary
info@cail.com www.cail.com 905-940-9000