Chief Strategy Officer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), or chief strategist, is an executive responsible for assisting the chief executive officer (CEO) with developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining corporate strategic initiatives. The CSO is a consultative role; part leader and part doer, with the responsibility of ensuring that execution of the strategy supports the strategy elements
Job Outlook
There were 38 Chief Strategy Officer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1410 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chief Operating Officer industry, which includes the Chief Strategy Officer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Chief Strategy Officer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $196,033.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $196,033.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Chief Strategy Officer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $162,262.
Education and Experience
Posted Chief Strategy Officer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 57.66% |
| Master's Degree | 57.09% |
| Doctoral Degree | 9.72% |
| Other | 1.28% |
Posted Chief Strategy Officer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 2.08% |
| 3 to 5 years | 21.44% |
| 6 to 8 years | 29.64% |
| 9+ years | 46.84% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Chief Strategy Officer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Leadership (86.03%)
- Communication (70.35%)
- Strategic Planning (53.62%)
- Management (43.83%)
- Operations (42.06%)
- Planning (39.79%)
- Innovation (39.65%)
- Influencing Skills (30.35%)
- Decision Making (29.22%)
- Advocacy (24.26%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Marketing (33.12%)
- Business Development (25.18%)
- Project Management (21.76%)
- Finance (24.62%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Thought Leadership (15.09%)
- Fundraising (22.32%)
- Strategic Partnership (18.75%)
- Business Strategies (13.58%)
- Business Planning (10.64%)
- Strategic Prioritization (14.46%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (16.76%)
- Customer Engagement Strategy (5.4%)
- Sales Prospecting (10.48%)
- Pharmaceuticals (5.96%)
- Key Opinion Leader Development (4.92%)
- Philanthropy (11.6%)
- Oncology (5.08%)
- Biotechnology (5.32%)
- Change Management (12.47%)
- Strategic Leadership (16.92%)
- Faculty Development (3.34%)
- Organizational Leadership (11.52%)
- Data Analysis (12.31%)
- Customer Centricity (3.34%)
- Compliance Training (3.34%)
- Key Account Management (3.42%)
- PhRMA Code (3.34%)
- Growth Strategies (8.42%)
- General Scientific Knowledge (3.34%)
- Revenue Growth (10.25%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (10.41%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Chief Strategy Officer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Chief Growth Officer
- Executive Director
- Thought Leader Liaison
- Chief Advancement Officer
- Hospital Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Philanthropy Officer
- Chief Development Officer
- Business Consultant
- Director of Partnerships
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Chief Strategy Officer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Johnson & Johnson (41)
- PAM Health (22)
- Google (22)
- National Kidney Foundation (17)
- CVS Health (17)
- Other Executive (12)
- Amazon (12)
- Sanofi (12)
- UnitedHealth Group (12)
- Texas Executives (11)
North Carolina
- University of North Carolina System (2)
- Truist Financial (2)
- Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority (2)
- UNC Health (2)
- Novant Health (1)
- Amazon (1)
- Open Eyes International (1)
- Hitachi (1)
- Atrium Health (1)
- University of North Carolina (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.