What Is a Chief Data Officer?

What do Coca-Cola and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have in common? Yes, both are based in Atlanta, but there’s a lesser-known shared trait: Both employ chief data officers (CDOs).

The chief data officer role is believed to have originated at Capital One and was long dominated by the finance and healthcare sectors. Now, consumer brands and services like SeatGeek, Hulu, Sotheby’s and Poshmark are bringing CDOs into the C-suite as well.

Chief Data Officer Responsibilities

The chief data officer is the executive responsible for managing an organization's data assets and leveraging them to drive operational value and achieve strategic objectives. Individuals in  this role develop and implement comprehensive data strategies, which outline how to capture, manage, store, analyze and utilize data.  

Critical to a CDO’s responsibilities is ensuring robust data governance and regulatory compliance. This includes setting data policies, maintaining data quality standards and ensuring adherence to regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). CDOs must work closely with legal, compliance and IT teams to establish frameworks that protect sensitive information, maintain customer trust and avoid costly penalties. 

Additionally, CDOs oversee data lifecycle management and security, ensuring that data is handled responsibly from creation to deletion. This involves classifying data appropriately, managing access controls and implementing retention and disposal policies. 

CDO vs CIO: What’s the Difference?

Chief data officers and chief information officers (CIOs) are both in the C-suite, but each has different responsibilities. 

The CIO is responsible for overseeing internal IT strategy and operations. They ensure that their IT infrastructure, hardware, software, databases and networks are operational and optimized for their business needs. On the flip side, CDOs focus entirely on data operations. This work entails ensuring databases are safeguarded and comply with privacy regulations. Additionally they lead an organization’s data strategy, which in recent years has enhanced product development in addition to improving operational efficiency.

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Why Organizations Hire Chief Data Officers

Fewer and fewer companies doubt the primacy of data. But does that necessarily mean an organization needs to take on the expense of hiring a dedicated data officer into the upper echelons of the org chart? 

For Doug Laney, the proof is in the numbers. Laney, a research and advisory fellow at data analysis firm BARC, conducted a survey of companies about the impacts of CDOs. After interviewing some 500 organizations, a few key statistics emerged. According to Laney’s research, organizations with a CDO are:

• Four times more likely to use data to transform their business.
• Three times more likely to freely share data across the business.
• Seven times more likely to generate external monetary value from their data.
• Twice as likely to run advanced analytics, rather than basic operational reporting, than organizations that make a CIO responsible for data assets.
• Three to four times more likely to formally value their data assets.

The last figure is notable, as many companies fail to formally value their data, since accounting often doesn’t consider it a balance sheet asset the way it does other technologies. Aside from being a bitter irony, the failure to quantify the value of data creates a vicious cycle of not monetizing it.

Career Path and Salary for Chief Data Officers

There is no one linear path for becoming a CDO. It requires a blend of technical expertise, leadership skills and understanding of business strategy. While there are now several CDO boot camps and certificate programs, they are not required. In fact, many people in the field today hold degrees in computer science, statistics or information technology. What matters most is to build a strong foundation by starting in entry level roles, such as data analysts or data scientists, to learn core skills like data collection and analysis. 

As professionals advance, they often take on mid-level or managerial roles, where they expand their technical skills and begin taking on leadership and project management roles. At this stage, understanding how data supports broader business objectives is critical. As they progress in senior data roles, learning about data governance and architecture helps prepare them for the CDO position. 

Given the importance of data in driving business strategy and innovation, the CDO role has become highly sought after. As organizations continue to invest in data-driven transitions, experienced data professionals who become chief data officers are commanding highly competitive salaries, ranging between $103,000 and $323,000, according to Payscale. The median pay for a CDO is $174,329 a year. 

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Trends in the Chief Data Officer Role

The chief data officer role has developed over time from a "defensive" function that focuses on governance and compliance to a more attractive “offense” role aimed at using data to drive digital transformation and business impact. Organizations now expect CDOs to use data as a strategic asset to drive measurable results on key performance indicators. As a result, CDOs are leading initiatives that go beyond analytics and include things like improving data quality, integrating overlooked data sources and modernizing internal data architecture. 

While CDOs are still expected to have technical expertise, organizations are also beginning to value CDOs who can bridge the gap between IT and business. Many of today's top CDOs work in hybrid roles, where they navigate data infrastructure and drive strategic changes. 

The Rise of the Chief AI Officer

As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into business strategy, a new C-suite role is gaining traction: the chief AI officer, or CAIO. This emerging position works closely with the CDO, but with a distinct focus on the development, deployment and ethical governance of AI systems. While the CDO is responsible for managing data as a strategic asset, the CAIO is tasked with turning that data into automation solutions that enhance the business’ decision-making and streamline operations. 
As organizations continue to invest heavily in automation to drive efficiency, gain insights and stay competitive, the chief AI officer plays a critical role in aligning a business’ long-term goals with AI initiatives — while also ensuring responsible and transparent use of the technology. This role is becoming especially popular in industries like healthcare, finance and consumer technology, where AI adoption is at its highest. 

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