Chief of staff vs chief strategy officer

The differences between chiefs of staff and chief strategy officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a chief of staff, becoming a chief strategy officer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief strategy officer has an average salary of $163,192, which is higher than the $130,835 average annual salary of a chief of staff.

The top three skills for a chief of staff include PET, team support and project management. The most important skills for a chief strategy officer are business development, CSO, and strategic vision.

Chief of staff vs chief strategy officer overview

	Chief Of Staff	Chief Strategy Officer
Yearly salary	$130,835	$163,192
Hourly rate	$62.90	$78.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	124,272	93,147
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	52	44
Years of experience	-	6

What does a chief of staff do?

A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.

What does a chief strategy officer do?

A chief strategy officer or chief strategist is an executive leader in an organization responsible for assisting the chief executive officer with communicating, developing, and sustaining business corporate strategic initiatives and the company's overall goals. This is a senior executive role and a big responsibility for holding the top strategy part. They focus on implementing a company's strategy, both internally and externally. They ensure to communicate to all employees, business partners, suppliers, and contractors to know the importance of a company-wide strategic plan.

Chief of staff vs chief strategy officer salary

Chiefs of staff and chief strategy officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Of Staff	Chief Strategy Officer
Average salary	$130,835	$163,192
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $200,000	Between $103,000 And $257,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	Lyft	Norton Rose Fulbright
Best paying industry	Start-up	Finance

Differences between chief of staff and chief strategy officer education

There are a few differences between a chief of staff and a chief strategy officer in terms of educational background:

	Chief Of Staff	Chief Strategy Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Chief of staff vs chief strategy officer demographics

Here are the differences between chiefs of staff' and chief strategy officers' demographics:

	Chief Of Staff	Chief Strategy Officer
Average age	52	44
Gender ratio	Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%	Male, 78.6% Female, 21.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	10%

Differences between chief of staff and chief strategy officer duties and responsibilities

Chief of staff example responsibilities.

Lead headquarters (HQ) operations staff.
Manage the G3's fiscal year budget planning, formulation, and execution.
Supervise the G2 administrative section and maintain and manage the G2 budget and material resources.
Manage the predeployment training and the deployment process to receiving commands, and subsequent redeployment and deactivation.
Manage budgets of $75,000 to $22 million paying keen attention to cost containment and ROI.
Credit for managing and improving the HAZMAT program, which serve as a benchmark example for the base community.

Chief strategy officer example responsibilities.

Establish and manage SLA process.
Manage PPC, SEM and affiliate marketing goals, objectives and strategies.
Lead rebranding and comprehensive redesign of website, print and booth assets.
Manage web content and social media guidelines in alignment with e-marketing strategy and SEM priorities.
Upgrade and manage organization VoIP phone system with 8x8 both internally and for remote employees through virtual desktop.
Manage creation of strategic business and marketing plans for B2B and B2C companies in various industries and markets.

Chief of staff vs chief strategy officer skills

Common chief of staff skills

PET, 15%
Team Support, 11%
Project Management, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Direct Reports, 6%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%

Common chief strategy officer skills

Business Development, 10%
CSO, 8%
Strategic Vision, 7%
Brand Marketing, 6%
Business Plan, 5%
Strategy Development, 5%

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Chief Of Staff vs Chief Strategy Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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