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Also known as: Chief Technology Officer

CTO

FoundationalRoles

Definition

CTO: The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is the executive responsible for a company's technology strategy and technical vision. CTOs oversee product development, engineering teams, and technical architecture decisions. The role evolves from hands-on coding to strategic leadership as companies scale.

Example Usage

“Our CTO transitioned from writing code daily to focusing on technical strategy and growing the engineering team.”

Common Misconceptions

CTOs code all day. At scale, they focus more on strategy and leadership.
CTOs only care about technology. Great CTOs balance tech with business needs.
Every startup needs a CTO. Early startups may have a technical co-founder or VP Eng instead.

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