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 strategy officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief strategy officer resumes:
- 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.
- Design and develop services and team for process and change management alignment in ITIL.
- Develop business continuity strategy & aligns areas to ITIL service orient architecture and best practices.
- Organize, evangelize, and supervise the company's rebranding under a single brand for AlertBoot.
- Determine key performance indicators (KPIs), and measurement systems across all disciplines and levels of the organization.
- Participate in yearly business planning processes representing infrastructure projects.
- Implement metric-based service monitoring to improve infrastructure demand - capacity ratios.
- Identify and analyze target market segmentation using customer lifetime value and ROI criteria.
- Manage creative execution and strategy and supervise CRM teams to ensure flawless execution.
- Provide business line support and oversight, strategic planning and implementation and executive leadership.
Chief strategy officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Chief Strategy Officers are proficient in Business Development, CSO, and Strategic Vision. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Leadership skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Chief Strategy Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Business Development, 10%
Managed company's business development and sales infrastructure, which consistently outpaced industry growth through strategic partnerships and national sales.
- CSO, 8%
Served as GM of the company s core business and CSO for the company overall.
- Strategic Vision, 7%
Pioneered creation of SWOT analysis, strategy map, strategic vision, and implementation plan.
- Brand Marketing, 6%
Led design and implementation of brand marketing programs, project management and operational execution, and monitoring of performance goals.
- Business Plan, 5%
Identified potential investors, facilitated meetings, and prepared detailed market analysis reports, financial projections, and business plans.
- Strategy Development, 5%
Succeeded in raising staff morale and shaping strategy developments
Common skills that a chief strategy officer uses to do their job include "business development," "cso," and "strategic vision." You can find details on the most important chief strategy officer responsibilities below.
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform chief strategy officer duties is leadership skills. Chief strategy officers responsibilities require that "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." Chief strategy officers also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided product development leadership for new interactive advertisement channels. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for chief strategy officers to perform their duties. For an example of how chief strategy officer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a chief strategy officer: "work with current and potential clients to understand their business needs and provide a profitable hr solution for their company. ".
Time-management skills. For certain chief strategy officer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a chief strategy officer rely on this skill, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what chief strategy officers do: "project management/account transition o submitted over 100 rfp requests in [ ] by production deadlines. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in chief strategy officer job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what chief strategy officers do. Chief strategy officer responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." You can also see how chief strategy officer duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "produced analytics program to increase marketing and communications roi 33%. "
The three companies that hire the most chief strategy officers are:
- Wells Fargo5 chief strategy officers jobs
- Interpath Labs5 chief strategy officers jobs
- Tenet Healthcare4 chief strategy officers jobs
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Compare different chief strategy officers
Chief strategy officer vs. Owner/manager
Owners/managers are responsible for establishing a business and managing the operations once the business is running. They plan and make sure that the company has adequate financing. They also handle the initial marketing to get customers. Owners/mangers handle human resources activities, such as hiring and training employees. Once the business has launched, they start delegating activities to other employees and may also start assigning leaders to different departments. However, they still oversee the whole operation. Owners/managers are the top decision-makers and ensure that business strategies align with the goals.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a chief strategy officer are more likely to require skills like "cso," "health system," "strategic vision," and "brand marketing." On the other hand, a job as an owner/manager requires skills like "financial statements," "inventory control," "customer service," and "human resources." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that owner/managers earn slightly differ from chief strategy officers. In particular, owner/managers are 18.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a chief strategy officer. Additionally, they're 3.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief strategy officer vs. Managing director
A Managing Director oversees workflow and progress, making sure that all operations align within the company or organization's mission or set of goals. They are responsible for crafting strategies, devising effective business plans, and executing guidelines that would nurture a company's growth, and as well as to be the driving force that would direct employees to the company's objectives. Furthermore, a Managing Director must coordinate with those in a higher position, such as the members of the board.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, chief strategy officer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cso," "health system," "strategic vision," and "strategy development." Meanwhile, a managing director has duties that require skills in areas such as "healthcare," "portfolio," "project management," and "customer service." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Managing directors may earn a lower salary than chief strategy officers, but managing directors earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $177,065. On the other hand, chief strategy officers receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $159,121.In general, managing directors achieve similar levels of education than chief strategy officers. They're 4.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief strategy officer vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from chief strategy officer resumes include skills like "cso," "health system," "strategic vision," and "brand marketing," whereas a manager is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "payroll," "food safety," and "financial statements. "
Managers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $71,781. On the other hand, chief strategy officers are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $159,121.managers typically earn lower educational levels compared to chief strategy officers. Specifically, they're 19.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief strategy officer vs. Assistant general manager
An assistant general manager is responsible for supporting the daily business operations under the general manager's supervision, ensuring that the team delivers the required tasks with the highest quality and standards. Assistant general managers' duties also include managing and delegating individual tasks, addressing concerns from the staff, managing and resolving client's complaints immediately, providing recommendations and business opportunities, sharing best practices to increase revenues and profitability, and submitting reports. An assistant general manager should have excellent leadership and decision-making skills to help in managing the overall operations.
Types of chief strategy officer
Updated January 8, 2025
