Combining digital, IT and data into a single chief digital information officer or chief digital technology officer:
— Enables an overarching technology vision for the company.
— Allows disputes between IT and digital to be handled by one person and not flow up to the CEO.
— This structure tends to be the most attractive to leading tech talent.
— The challenge is finding executives who combine the right experience with the needed skill sets and leadership abilities.
Splitting technology roles into a CIO, chief digital officer and chief data officer:
— Allows for a more focused approach to each specialty.
— Enables leaders to construct teams that have deep functional expertise.
— Can lead to a dearth of coordination or lack of a unified digital vision.
— This model is generally less attractive to outside talent, who may be accustomed to more ownership of each given function.
