The position of Chief Technology Officer is relatively new to corporate leadership and very little has been published on the role, responsibilities, and relationships of this position. Like many of the traditional leadership positions, the skills necessary to execute this position vary depending on the growth stage that the company is entering. In this paper we discuss the manner in which the role of the CTO changes as a company grows from a start-up to an industry dominating position.

1. The Role of the CTO in a Growing Organization Roger Smith US Army PEO STRI [email_address] Approved for Public Release. Security and OPSEC Review Completed: No Issues. Infrastructure Executive Council Corporate Executive Board 1 February 2008

3. Organization CTOs Studied

8. 5 Patterns of the CTO Smith, R. (Nov-Dec 2007). “What CTOs Do?”. Research-Technology Management , 50(6). Genius Founder/Creator Product Innovation Director Scientist/Researcher Innovation Mgmt Executive Engineer/Scientist Strategic Management Administrator Manager/Accountant Efficient Deployment Advocate Service/User Customer Features Void No CTO No New Technology

9. CTO Responsibilities Smith, R. (Nov-Dec 2007). “What CTOs Do?”. Research-Technology Management , 50(6). Companies that could benefit from a technology leader, but who do not understand how such a position could be applied. Void Focused on the applications of technology to improve the experience of the customer. Leverage technology to create a competitive advantage for the company through its relationship with customers. Advocate Strategic leader working with company executives to identify important technical trends in the future and how these will impact the company and the industry. Executive Manager of corporate research projects and investments. Handles the business aspects of a portfolio of different technologies that the company is pursuing. Director Guardian or watchdog over the organization’s selection and use of vendor technologies. Expertise with technologies is used to accurately evaluate vendor proposals and claims for their products. Administrator Personally involved in the creation of new technology and its application to company products and services. Uses personal technical talent to direct and motivate the technical staff. Genius Duties and Activities Pattern

12. CTOs Across Organization Phase Genius Envision, Create, & Champion the new opportunity Emergence Stabilization Expansion Dominance Administrator Optimize, Organize, & Staff for growth Administrator Manage product innovation Director Build research organization and target technologies Advocate Focus on competitive advantage of customer experience Executive Strategic innovation, research, and competitive position Organization Phase Director Focus research organization on future positioning