A chief digital officer (CDO) or a chief digital information officer (CDIO) is an individual who helps a
company, a
government organization
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
or a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
drive growth by converting
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
"analog" businesses to
digital ones using the potential of modern online technologies and data (i.e.,
digital transformation
Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology by an organization to digitize non-digital products, services or operations. The goal for its implementation is to increase value through innovation, invention, customer experience or e ...
), and at times oversees operations in the rapidly changing digital sectors like
mobile applications
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...
,
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
and related applications,
virtual goods
Virtual goods are non-physical objects and money purchased for use in online communities or online games. Digital goods, on the other hand, may be a broader category including digital books, music, and movies. Virtual goods are intangible by defin ...
, as well as web-based
information management and
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of an organization's CDO are varied and still evolving as the future of a CIO for digital businesses. The CDO is not only a digital expert, but may also be a seasoned
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. As the role frequently is transformational, CDOs generally are responsible for the adoption of digital technologies across a business. As with most senior executive titles, the responsibilities are set by the organization's
board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure. The CDO is responsible not just for digital consumer experiences across all business touch points, but also for the whole process of digital transformation.
Role prevalence
According to a study by
Gartner
Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its client ...
, a predicted 25% of businesses will have created and filled the chief digital officer title by 2015. Research by PwC in 2020 indicates that 21% of large public enterprises had created such a role by 2020, with growth decelerating.
See also
*
Digital strategy manager
References
{{Corporate titles
Management occupations
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