The Rise of the Chief Project Officer

The Rise of the Chief Project Officer

With the significant increase in automation of operations and the increase in change initiatives and project work, a new role is emerging in the executive committee. Companies are beginning to consolidate responsibility for orchestrating and successfully implementing the organization’s continuous transformation and significant strategic initiatives within a single C-level executive.

In January 2022, Katie Mullen was appointed JCPenney’s chief digital and transformation officer, leading the e-commerce business’s growth and reimagining how consumers experience JCPenney. She is also responsible for driving enterprise strategy and the company’s transformation agenda.

Gfinity, a world-leading esports solutions provider, appointed Thomas Preising in April 2021 to the role of chief revenue and transformation officer, where he is responsible for overseeing all revenue generation and technology transformation across the company and reports directly to the CEO.

Stacey Tank of Heineken N.V. was appointed in late 2020 as chief corporate affairs and transformation officer. Her role entails supporting the orchestration of crucial change and transformation initiatives of Heineken’s strategic agenda.

It’s not only multinationals and for-profit organizations. The CEO of a nonprofit that competes for government contracts to improve health care recently wrote me: “I plan to add a chief project officer to my small executive