In a previous blog post, we wrote about The Rise and Fall of the Chief Growth Officer. Asking the question, is the role misunderstood, or becoming obsolete? We’re getting a lot of questions around that, which is why this post is a follow-up.
What Is a Chief Growth Officer and Why Is the Role So Misunderstood?
As the premier boutique marketing executive search firm, we do a lot of work for Chief Marketing Officers and other senior roles in brand, digital, e-commerce, product, and communications etc. The role we get approached to provide executive search services for the second most frequently after CMO is the Chief Growth Officer. About half the time, our potential client is using the title incorrectly, so we get to coach them on the right and wrong applications for the role.
The Chief Growth Officer is the most misunderstood role in the C-suite. Which leads to potential problems for both a client wanting to recruit for the role, but also for someone who takes the role and ends up calling themselves a Chief Growth Officer, but is not actually working the correct function(s).
In the right application, it is an incredibly powerful role. In the wrong application, it is most likely to mask other problems inside the organization. So let’s start by understanding: what is the Chief Growth Officer?
A Chief Growth Officer will be someone who ends up overseeing marketing, sales, product, and customer success. Sometimes we’ve had clients call us and say, “I need a Chief Growth Officer,” and they’re only going to own marketing and product. Well, that’s not a Chief Growth Officer. Let’s just call that new person the Chief Marketing and Product Officer, that would be the right title for that role. That will allow us to recruit the right type of talent because once we start using the incorrect title, we’re not going to end up with the right talent in the role.
We’ve had other instances where someone will call us and they really just want the person to own marketing and overall sales enablement, or a component of sales that’s more tactical, whereas the Chief Sales Officer can own strategy. That’s also not a Chief Growth Officer.
When Do Companies Actually Need a Chief Growth Officer?
So what’s really important is understanding when and where the application of the role is positive, and when we may just be masking other issues.
Let’s say you’re in most companies, you’re 90% of organizations out there, and you’re growing 8 to 15% a year. You have a good culture that allows for collaboration across the organization, so silos aren’t forming. You have strong leadership in marketing, sales, product, and customer success. Then there should be no need for a Chief Growth Officer.
Now, if one of those areas isn’t working and growth is stagnating as a result because, say, sales isn’t taking the leads that marketing is driving and converting them, then you don’t need a Chief Growth Officer. You need a new Chief Sales Officer.
If marketing is not driving the return on advertising spend, and your customer acquisition costs are too high compared to your industry or peers, then again, you don’t need a Chief Growth Officer. You need a new Chief Marketing Officer.
What we commonly find is that a company has a Chief Marketing Officer, a Chief Sales Officer, and a Chief Product Officer who have been with the organization for a long time. Things have worked historically, and now growth is stalling. So the thought becomes: maybe we need a Chief Growth Officer. Most likely, what you need is a new person in one of those areas because someone is no longer keeping up with the pace of change in corporate America.
Proper Use Cases for a Chief Growth Officer
When is a Chief Growth Officer the right role and not just a misplaced title or a temporary fix for deeper organizational issues?
1. High-Growth Companies
If you’re growing more than 25% annually and expect that to be the case for the next 4–10 years, the velocity of growth is perfect for a Chief Growth Officer. You already have high-performing leaders in marketing, product, sales, and customer success. You just need someone to coordinate cross-functionally and ensure alignment in data usage and growth enablement.
Especially when you’re competing with other fast-growing organizations, a Chief Growth Officer can help you stay a step ahead and create a competitive advantage.
2. Driving Innovation and New Business Models
Maybe you’re growing 8–12% annually, but you need someone to focus on innovation and net-new products, like launching a subscription model or expanding into e-commerce. Maybe you need someone to drive mergers and acquisitions. That’s a great application for a Chief Growth Officer.
You’re not looking to fix marketing, sales, product, or customer success—you already have strong leadership there. Instead, you need someone focused on new business models, new channels, and corporate development.
Misuses of the Chief Growth Officer Role That Can Backfire
The mistake many organizations make is thinking they can use the Chief Growth Officer role to replace one or more roles, like Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Sales Officer, Chief Product Officer, or Head of Customer Success.
But replacing these key functional leaders and adding their responsibilities to one person, the Chief Growth Officer, doesn’t solve your growth problem. You’re just adding more direct reports to someone and expecting different results.
We’ve seen this tried, we’ve always coached clients against it, and it’s not a path that leads to long-term success.
Final Thoughts
As an organization, you still need a Head of Marketing, a Head of Sales, a Head of Product, and a Head of Customer Success. That may vary by industry, but it’s generally true.
The Chief Growth Officer is not someone who replaces these roles. In the right applications, they add value to the organization in other ways.