What Even is a CIO?

The new c-suite role quickly growing in popularity.

“Impact” has never been a more important topic to CEOs. After maneuvering through years riddled with widespread social unrest, racial injustice, and climate change, companies have been tasked with conducting business ethically and in support of positive change. With this focus, the role of a Chief Impact Officer (CIO - not to be confused with Chief Investment Officer, Chief Information Officer or Chief Innovation Officer…) has become more prevalent in C-suites across industries. Famous public figures like Prince Harry, Simone Biles, and Lil Nas have been elevated to CIO positions, further fueling the frenzy behind the impact revolution. However, beyond the publicity of these hirings, it’s important to understand the role CIOs can play within organizations large and small, as they have a keyy role in a company’s strategy and longevity. Note that we focus on the relatively nascent “CIO” role in this post, but other related titles you may have seen with more frequency include “head of impact” or “head of sustainability”, for example. 

While the exact responsibilities of CIOs differ between organizations, there are a few common expectations for someone in the role. First and foremost, as the title implies, CIOs are responsible for identifying and building the strategy behind the positive impact their organization has on stakeholders, such as employees, customers, and suppliers. Put simply, CIOs align the values of the organization to the work being done. As part of this, CIOs must create and track critical metrics regarding goals for the reach and amplification of the organization’s impact, a difficult feat considering the lack of standardized means of impact measurement. Finally, many CIOs must also properly communicate the positive impact of the organization to key stakeholders. Overall, CIOs are responsible for aligning business practices with overall impact.  

The CIO role has grown in prevalence since the COVID-19 pandemic, as more and more stakeholders expect the business world to play a major role in solving “ESG”-related issues. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that 83% of consumers think that companies should be actively shaping ESG best practices, while 86% of employees prefer to work for companies that care about the same issues as they do. Impact is no longer considered to be a tangential, secondary work stream, but a critical part of a business’s ecosystem writ large, and is inextricably connected to every department’s work. Therefore, a CIO brings an integral perspective to the highest level of an organization. 

On a separate but related note, the role of the board has shifted accordingly - the definition of good governance is evolving and today’s boards must operate with stakeholders in mind, not just shareholders. (Stakeholders include not only investors, but also employees, customers, executive leadership, and the greater community.) 

Given the abundance of potential uses for a startup’s budget, why should a founder expend a portion of its limited resources to create a CIO position? To start, it’s not for every company or every stage business. However, the current market focus on corporate social responsibility is not going anywhere - and research shows how a focus on corporate social responsibility has ROI-positive benefits to a company. Furthermore, the term “impact” is broad and the issues to be solved are abundant. Therefore, it can be critical to have a designated member of the C-suite providing focus and maintaining a core impact strategy that is true to company values. Finally, as mentioned, impact touches every element of an organization. Properly executing an impact strategy requires coordination, and the CIO supports just that.

Georgia Hoagland