Technology architecture - Role
CTO
(Chief Technology Officer)
The senior executive responsible for technology products, engineering and architecture
What's it for?
Leads the technology used to build and improve products or services offered to customers.
For example…
A CTO deciding how to build a new online product chooses which technology direction the company will follow and which technical skills it should keep in-house
As the product grows, the CTO sets engineering standards and makes trade-offs between speed, reliability and long-term maintainability.
Often confused with…
- CIO (Chief Information Officer)The senior executive responsible for an organisation’s internal technology and information systems
- CINO (Chief Innovation Officer)The senior executive responsible for finding new ideas and changing how the organisation works
- CTIO (Chief Technology and Innovation Officer)A senior executive role combining responsibility for technology direction with responsibility for innovation