The Chief Technology Officer: Strategic Responsibilities and Relationships Research Technology Management, July-August 2003 The Chief Technology Officer: Strategic Responsibilities and Relationships Roger D. Smith Titan Corporation
[email protected] Introduction Origins of the Chief Technology Officer The significant role of technology in In the 1950s and 1960s, many large strategic business decisions has created the corporations established beautiful research need for executives who understand laboratories at locations remote from their technology and recognize profitable headquarters and manufacturing facilities. applications to products, services, and The goal was to collect brilliant scientists processes. Many companies have addressed and allow them to study relevant topics in an this need through the appointment of a Chief environment unhindered by day-to-day Technology Officer (CTO) whose business concerns. The director of the responsibilities include monitoring new laboratory was often a corporate vice technologies and assessing their potential to president who did not participate in become new products or services, decisions regarding corporate strategy and overseeing the selection of research projects direction. Instead, his responsibilities were to insure that they have the potential to add to attract the best scientists, explore new value to the company, providing reliable ideas, and publish respected research technical assessments of potential mergers papers.1 and acquisitions, explaining company By the late 1980s, companies began to products and future plans to the trade media, anoint R&D laboratory directors as Chief and participating in government, academic, Technology Officers. Technology was and industry groups where there are becoming such a prevalent part of company opportunities to promote the company’s products and services that senior reputation and to capture valuable data.