Innovation and the Chief Transformation Officer in the Age of AI
The hiring rate of Chief Transformation Officers has more than doubled in recent years, and the role has changed character along the way. Where the first generation of CTrOs was largely hired to drive large-scale digital transformation, today's surge is at least partly tied to the rise of generative AI.
For Innovation, R&D, and New Product Development teams, this trend is rarely a nonevent. In Wellspring's work with global companies, CTrOs have variously emboldened innovation strategies and confused the innovation mission. In most cases, innovators who find common cause with the CTrO's agenda come out ahead.
In this panel discussion, Wellspring draws on decades of experience working with global companies on growth innovation and transformation to explore what today's CTrO resurgence means for innovation teams. Topics include:
- What is driving enterprise transformation programs today, and what has changed from the recent past
- How much substantive overlap exists between Transformation, AI, and Innovation, and how often the CTrO is responsible for all three
- How NPD, R&D, and Innovation teams can position themselves relative to these transformation efforts