Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Definition - What does Chief Digital Officer (CDO) mean?

A chief digital officer (CDO) is a senior executive role that is focused on driving growth in an enterprise, region or government through digitization of data. The chief digital officer identifies all potential areas that can be digitized and interact with one another. Given the importance that data or big data enjoys in modern world, the chief digital officer has roles and responsibilities that are both expansive and constantly changing.

The chief digital officer’s role is sometimes confused with that of chief data officer, although responsibilities-wise, they are quite distinct roles.

[Techopedia Exclusive] increase DevOps team productivity and efficiency through advanced collaboration. Download this FREE guide today.

Techopedia explains Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

From the time companies started hiring chief digital officers, their roles and responsibilities have changed significantly. In the past, chief digital officers would be expected to bring in digitization at some basic levels and probably handle a few pilot digitization projects. Now, they are expected to change the fortunes of a business by driving digitization throughout the enterprise.

Some responsibilities of the chief digital officer include:

Identifying potential digitization opportunities and pain points
Identifying revenue potential from digitization opportunities and driving the initiative
Enhancing customer satisfaction through digitization initiatives
Enabling employees with skills related to digitization

The chief digital officer reports to the CEO or COO. The role of the chief digital officer is constantly assuming more significance as more companies embark on the digital path.