A Chief Technical Officer or more commonly Chief Technology Officer (abbreviated as CTO), is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization. It typically involves overseeing Research and Development (R&D) activities, and formulating long-term visions and strategies at the officer level. Essentially, a CTO is responsible for the transformation of capital – be it monetary, intellectual, or political – into technology in furtherance of the company’s objectives. They must typically combine a strong technical or scientific background with business development skills.
The role became prominent with the ascent of the information technology (IT) industry, but has since become prevalent in technology-based industries of all types (e.g. biotechnology, energy, etc.). As a corporate officer position, the CTO typically reports directly to the CEO and is primarily concerned with long-term and “big picture” issues (while still having deep technical knowledge of the relevant field). Depending on company structure and hierarchy, there may also be positions such as Director of R&D and VP of Engineering whom the CTO interacts with and/or oversees. The CTO also needs a working familiarity with Regulatory (e.g. FDA, EPA, CPSC, as-applicable) and Intellectual Property (IP) issues (e.g. patents, trade secrets, license contracts), and an ability to interface with legal counsel to incorporate those considerations into strategic planning and inter-company negotiations.
View Other IT Management Skill Sets:
- Application Managers
- CIO
- CTO
- Helpdesk Managers
- IT Managers
- NOC Managers
- QA Managers
- VP of Technology
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