It could be said that ‘digital marketing,’ as a term, was born somewhere in the 1990s. However, it wasn’t until the 2000s – when Google went public, and Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn went live – when we started seeing digital-specific marketing teams formed.

Today, most often the highest digitally-responsible seat at most corporations is your VP of Digital. Some companies have a CDO (Chief Digital Officer). And for the most part, “digital” within companies focuses on reaching the customer and driving revenue.

However, high-growth companies and large multinationals are thinking bigger, and “digital marketing” has created the pathway to “digital transformation.” Therefore, the CDO of tomorrow is not just a marketer or an IT engineer by trade. The most capable CDO will understand how to train their employees more effectively across a global scale (** tosses HR hat on here); how to communicate with all stakeholders (** throws on corporate & internal communications hat here); how to get product out the door faster (** lifts supply chain & operations brim here); and how to complete a global audit process faster (** flips accounting hat sideways). They will assess their organization’s infrastructure across all functions, the resources and capabilities they have in place, and drive change from the inside out. They are a thought leader, enabler, trainer and implementer for everyone in the company to do their jobs better using technological and digital advancements.

So what does this mean if you’re hiring a CDO? Look outside of – in addition to – marketing. Continue focusing on those who know the customer, but require them to know their employees’ faces and functions. A CDO isn’t responsible for digital growth; they’re responsible for digital transformation.

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