The recent proliferation of trade disputes and global conflict have thrown markets and economies around the world into fits of uncertainty, with more economic disruptions expected on the horizon. Consequently, shoppers are buckling down as consumer confidence falls and businesses tighten their budgets.
As these dynamics evolve, companies are seeking a North Star to guide them through the turmoil. And indeed, there is one constant in the business world that leaders can look to: the drive for revenue, and the related goals of building customer and investor relationships. For this reason, Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) are poised to become even more vital leaders of their companies’ operations—perhaps even positioning them as future CEOs.
What CROs Bring to the Leadership Table
The expertise that many CROs have built can make them prime candidates to potentially lead their companies. First, naturally, is the position’s focus on revenue growth and scaling profitability. CROs also leverage data, analytics, AI, and revenue intelligence to make strategic decisions, alongside a broader understanding of customer behavior in both prosperous and uncertain market conditions. And in many organizations, CROs play a role in revenue forecasting, pricing strategies, and investor communications, preparing them for CEO-level financial and strategic decision-making.
CROs also tend to wear a lot of hats: in some cases, their responsibilities are nudging up against CFO duties, as I discussed in a CFO Dive article. In others, they must also dive into the details of sales, marketing, partnerships, and more. This allows for a big-picture view of a company’s entire revenue ecosystem, paralleling a CEO’s broad-spectrum oversight into company strategy.
Challenges for CROs Seeking to Take on Larger Roles
That’s not to say a CRO-to-CEO transition will be a cakewalk. There are several challenges CROs must overcome to take the reins of a company, such as becoming experts in areas beyond revenue and customer growth. Product development, finance, and human resources are all areas that a CEO must take ownership of, and which a CRO might not have the same nuanced proficiency in.
There is also the matter of short- versus long-term thinking, which gets at the heart of what separates the typical CRO from the typical CEO. CROs often must view strategic decisions in immediate terms, such as quarterly revenue goals. CEOs, on the other hand, must balance those immediate goals with longer-term outlooks: think strategic vision, research, and development, and supporting innovations and strategies that might not necessarily pay off for years.
CROs can overcome all the above challenges with some preparation and mindset change. Gaining exposure to those broader business functions such as finance and HR will allow CROs to have a better handle on wider company operations. As part of this, enhanced leadership skills can give them the tools they need to manage cross-functional teams, while also building stronger relationships with the board and investors. Lastly, CROs must be cognizant of the need for long-term strategic thinking, and shift from a sales-first mindset to one that considers the grander scheme of economic and financial conditions.
With market insight in one hand and growth strategy in the other, CROs are well-positioned to succeed in CEO roles.
Building a Better CEO Pipeline by Restructuring the Role of CRO
There are plenty of steps CROs themselves can take to strengthen their potential candidacy as a CEO, but there are also ways a company can help position its CRO to be a potential CEO candidate. This will help the company in the long run by boosting the talent pipeline for its top position in advance of an inevitable change in leadership.
The overall idea is to redesign the CRO role to encompass strategic and operational responsibilities beyond revenue. As a starting point, the CRO’s scope should expand beyond sales and marketing into customer success, partnerships, and product-led growth. In fact, the entire customer lifecycle from acquisition to retention to expansion call fall under the CRO’s purview, which can simultaneously strengthen their financial acumen in areas such as pricing strategy, revenue modeling, and business forecasting.
Companies can also build their CRO’s leadership skills by rotating them into cross-functional projects in finance, operations, and product development. Giving CROs exposure into HR and talent strategy—areas that the position is not normally involved in—will also position them to better handle those responsibilities should they be elevated to CEO. Thinking long term, this exposure should also apply to the engineering and product teams that drive future innovation.
Preparing CROs for CEO requires stretching their experience beyond revenue to enterprise-level decision making.
The role of a CEO can be significantly intertwined with a company’s board of directors, so CROs should be given early chances to build that relationship, such as by presenting revenue and business strategies at board meetings. CROs can also step into executive discussions on fundraising, investor relations, and mergers and acquisitions—again, giving them access to matters that will at some point fall under board consideration, further solidifying the CRO’s vital presence and perspective in the board room.
Finally, it is important for companies to aid CROs’ understanding of business-wide strategy and shift them from a strictly revenue-focused mindset. Companies can do this by helping CROs build experience in capital allocation, cost management, and operational efficiencies, which will illuminate the wider need for balance between profitability and growth. Zooming out ever wider, companies should instill a global focus on market expansion, competitive positioning, and industry trends as their CRO’s responsibilities grow.
Turning CROs into Public-Facing Leaders
In almost all companies, the role and responsibilities of the CEO extend beyond the office, often requiring them to become the public “face” of the business. This is well beyond the scope of the typical CRO, but there are incremental steps CROs can take to build confidence in this pursuit.
Industry events and executive panels provide one avenue for CROs to start presenting themselves as representatives of the company. CROs can also sit for more media interviews and press events, which may dovetail nicely with their existing expertise on customer and retail trends. And with the knowledge garnered from the above-mentioned cross-functional projects and team exposure, CROs can even publish insights on market trends, leadership, and the future of revenue growth.
These “soft skills” in communication and relationship-building are also critical to internal company dynamics—something many CEOs are keenly aware of. CROs can advance this trust with employees by taking on a mentorship role and coaching emerging leaders across departments.
In the end, by intentionally broadening the CRO role, companies can build a strong internal CEO pipeline. This reduces the risks in any leadership transition while also ensuring the next CEO has a deep understanding of revenue generation and market dynamics. And by taking strategic steps in broadening their apertures, CROs can position themselves as the most viable contender for the top job.
