Chief technology officer

Chief technology officer

A chief technology officer (or chief technical officer; CTO) is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization. The role became prominent with the ascent of the information technology (IT) industry, but has since become prevalent in technology-based industries of all types (e.g. biotechnology, energy, etc.). As a corporate officer position, the CTO typically reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) and is primarily concerned with long-term and "big picture" issues (while still having deep technical knowledge of the relevant field). Depending on company structure and hierarchy, there may also be positions such as director of R&D and vice president of engineering whom the CTO interacts with or oversees. The CTO also needs a working familiarity with regulatory (e.g. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Product Safety Commission, as applicable) and intellectual property (IP) issues (e.g. patents, trade secrets, license contracts), and an ability to interface with legal counsel to incorporate those considerations into strategic planning and inter-company negotiations.

Contents

Contrast with chief information officer (CIO)

The focus of a CTO may be contrasted with that of a CIO. A CIO is likely to solve organizational problems through acquiring and adapting existing technologies (especially those of an IT nature), whereas a CTO principally oversees development of new technologies (of various types). Many large companies have both positions.

Another major distinction is between technologies that a firm seeks to actually develop to commercialize itself vs. technologies that support or enable a firm to carry out its ongoing operations. A CTO is focused on technology integral to products being sold to customers or clients, while a CIO is a more internally oriented position focused on technology needed for running the company (and in IT fields, for maintaining foundational software platforms for any new applications). Accordingly, a CTO is more likely to be integrally involved with formulating intellectual property (IP) strategies and exploiting proprietary technologies.

In an enterprise whose primary technology concerns are addressable by ready-made technologies (which, by definition, is not the case for any companies whose very purpose is to develop new technologies), a CIO might be the primary officer overseeing technology issues at the executive level. In an enterprise whose primary technology concerns do involve developing (or marketing) new technologies, a CTO is more likely to be the primary representative of these concerns at the executive level.

Contrast with chief science officer (CSO)

In some organizations, the CTO may also hold the chief science officer (CSO) title. Alternatively, a company could have one or the other, or both occupied by separate people. Often, a CSO exists in heavily research-oriented companies, while a CTO exists in product-development-focused companies. The typical category of research and development that exists in many science and technology companies could be led by either post, depending on which area is the organization's primary focus.

A CSO almost always has a basic or pure science background and an advanced degree, whereas a CTO often has a background in engineering or business development.

Genesis of the CTO

In many older industries (whose existence may predate IT automation) such as manufacturing, shipping or banking, an executive role of CIO would often arise out of the process of automating existing activities; in these cases, any CTO-like role would only emerge if and when efforts would be made to develop truly novel technologies (either for facilitating internal operations or for enhancing products/services being provided), perhaps through "intrapreneuring."

CTO of the United States

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Aneesh Chopra the United States' first chief technology officer in April 2009.

References

[1]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • chief technology officer — UK US noun [C] (also chief technical officer, ABBREVIATION CTO) ► WORKPLACE, MANAGEMENT the person who is responsible for the technical needs of a company or organization: »The city s chief technology officer hopes to get new computer systems… …   Financial and business terms

  • Chief Technology Officer — Der Chief Technical Officer oder Chief Technology Officer (CTO), zu deutsch etwa Technischer Leiter, ist für die technische Entwicklung und Forschung innerhalb eines Unternehmens verantwortlich. Die aus dem amerikanischen bzw. angelsächsischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Chief Technology Officer - CTO — An executive who is responsible for the management of an organization s research and development (R D) and technological needs. A chief technology officer (CTO) examines the short and long term needs of an organization, and utilizes capital to… …   Investment dictionary

  • Chief Technology Officer of the United States — Aneesh Chopra The Chief Technology Officer of the United States (CTO), formally known as the Assistant to the President, Associate Director for the Office of Science and Technology Policy[1] is a position created within the Office of Science and… …   Wikipedia

  • Chief Technology Officer — CTO, executive in a company or large organization who is in charge of issues related to technology …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Chief information officer — (CIO), or information technology (IT) director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals. The title of Chief… …   Wikipedia

  • Chief science officer — (CSO) is a position at the head of scientific research operations at companies performing significant scientific research projects. In some organizations, the same person may hold this title along with that of Chief Technology Officer (CTO).… …   Wikipedia

  • Chief executive officer — Chief Executive redirects here. For other uses, see Chief executive (disambiguation). CEO and CEOs redirect here. For the island, see Ceos. For the musical project, see ceo (musician). A chief executive officer (CEO, American English), managing… …   Wikipedia

  • Chief marketing officer — (CMO) is a corporate title referring to an executive responsible for various marketing activities in an organization. Most often the position reports to the chief executive officer. Contents 1 Role 2 Challenges 3 CMO Associations 3.1 …   Wikipedia

  • Chief business officer — is a term used to describe the position of the top business and operating executive of an academic or research institution such as a university, college, institute or teaching hospital. The chief business officer title is becoming more… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”