Digital Transformation Starts with the CEO as Chief Vision Officer
In today's digital-first organisations, the CEO plays the role of Chief Vision Officer — setting direction, culture, and the pace of change. This post explores how the CEO shapes transformation and introduces the roles of CIO, CTO, and COO in delivering that vision.
Signal Boost: “Visions of a New World (Phase I)”, Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
A cosmic daydream with minimal words. This track drifts through space and spirit, sketching out a better world using only groove, texture, and intention.
The All-Hands Problem
It’s the Monday morning all-hands. The CEO stands in front of a slide titled Digital Transformation 2025. It’s got everything, cloud migration, customer journeys, omni-channel experiences. The buzzwords land. People nod. The room claps.
And then?
You guessed it, nothing happens!
People go back to their desks, unsure of what any of it actually means for them. The tech team gets swamped with vague requests. Operations waits for direction. Delivery has stalled before it has even started.
The Rebrand: CEO as Chief Vision Officer
This is the reality in too many organisations. Transformation isn’t failing because of bad tools. It’s failing because the vision is unclear, or worse, unconvincing.
That’s why we need to reframe the CEO’s role. Not just the Chief Executive, but the Chief Vision Officer. The person who owns the why, sets the tone, and shapes the culture of change.
What Does a Chief Vision Officer Do?
Think of the CVO role as holding three interconnected responsibilities:
1. Strategic Product Direction
- Sets the “what” and “why” of the business, setting a clear purpose
- Champions customer value over internal process
- Connects vision to product and service evolution
2. Cultural Ownership
- Defines the behaviours and values that guide decision-making
- Sets expectations for experimentation, accountability, and collaboration
- Shapes how teams interact and not just what they deliver
3. Operational Accountability
- Remains accountable for outcomes; even when delegated
- Balances innovation with resilience and compliance
- Brings together disparate business units under a common purpose
But the CEO Can’t Do It Alone
Behind every great CVO is a cast of leaders who turn strategy into execution. Most notably:
CIO: Chief Information Officer
Owns the technology portfolio. Ensures systems are secure, compliant, and aligned to business strategy.
CTO: Chief Technology Officer
Owns the tech itself. Designs scalable architecture, leads engineering culture, and drives technical innovation.
COO: Chief Operating Officer
Owns business operations. Turns vision into delivery, optimises performance, and ensures customer service and regulatory compliance.
Together, these roles build the bridge between vision and value, but only if their accountabilities are clear, aligned, and respected.
Why It Matters Now
Too many transformations fail because leaders assume “digital” is someone else’s problem. But without the CEO’s vision, transformation becomes fragmented or worse, a series of disconnected initiatives rather than a cohesive movement.
As the CVO, the CEO doesn’t have to know how the sausage gets made, but they do need to:
- Set the pace of change
- Model the culture they want to see
- Empower the right leaders to deliver it
What It All Comes Down To
Transformation doesn’t start with tech. It starts with a CEO who knows where they want to take the organisation, and why. When that vision is shared clearly and consistently, the CTO, CIO, and COO can do what they do best: turn it into something real.
In this post, we reimagined the CEO as Chief Vision Officer, a leader who doesn’t just sponsor change, but enables it. Next, we’ll explore the delivery powerhouses behind that vision, and how to get them working in harmony.
Coming Up Next…
In the next post, we’ll explore how the CTO, CIO, and COO roles interact, where tensions emerge, and what good alignment really looks like.
