Thanks to the author: Chris Moore
A Chief Product Officer (CPO), sometimes known as VP of Product or Head of Product, is a corporate title referring to an executiveresponsible for various product-related activities in an organization. The CPO is to the business's product what the CTO is to technology. A quote from Wikipedia
It’s become more common for product leaders to have a seat in the C-suite. However, the role of the Chief Product Officer (CPO) is still commonly misunderstood, with most organisations feeling a large overlap between the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Can they both co-exist to drive maximum value? It’s worth taking a closer look at the difference between the two related roles to see why they differ.
The CPO and CTO should share the same goal: To build and deliver the best possible experiences for customers and subsequent value for the company.
In small growth companies, the CTO may have complete ownership of design and development teams, larger organisations this tends to be broken down into multiple leadership roles. The CPO is brought in to handle the increased complexity that comes with multiple product lines for different customer segments. In companies where both roles exist, the line between CTO & CPO can become very blurry.
So, it is helpful to explore and define the specific responsibilities to set meaningful boundaries between the two roles. This helps avoid unnecessary overlap and increased efficiency. It also improves collaboration between the two broader organisations.
The CTO is responsible for the “how” of the product — the strategic approach to development and delivery. The CTO determines how the team will use technology to improve products and services. On the other hand, the CPO is responsible for the “why” of the product — the strategic approach to what will be built. The CPO makes sure the product direction is...
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