Sales, Marketing, Commercial or Growth? Which “Chief” Do You Need and Why?

A Complex Customer in a Complex Market

The ‘omnibus of job titles’ mirrors the ‘omni-channel’ market. This term describes a world beyond the traditional shopping experience by providing consumers with a consistent, personalized, and unified experience, regardless of whether they interact with a brand online, offline, or through various devices and platforms. These specialized senior roles meet the evolving challenges of modern consumer engagement, digital transformation, and market competition. As companies expand their presence in multiple channels (digital, social media, physical stores) and reach diverse customer segments, the roles within marketing and sales have become more specialized. We predict this trend will continue.

This is all happening in an evolving post-pandemic, war-torn environment where transformation, be it digital, net zero, or ESG-driven, is increasingly bumpy. And not just transformation. The classic bones of the retail skeleton, the global supply chain, have faced disruption, uncertainty, cost pressures, and even a breakdown in the Suez Canal.

The need for a global perspective changed the organizational outlook and turbo-charged engagement with executive search; organizations needed access to international talent pools and the ability to understand ‘multi-channel’ careers spanning different job titles.

So how does the Chief Sales, Marketing, Revenue, Customer, Commercial, or Growth Officer map onto this global marketplace?

What Some “Chiefs” Are Telling Us

Our conversations with different “Chiefs” reveal a consistent focus on four key themes:

(i) Joint value creation; (ii) cross-functional collaboration; (iii) end-to-end approach; and (iv) use of data for alignment with customers.  

At the organizational level, job titles such as Chief Commercial or Growth Officer recognize the symbiotic ‘triune’ relationship between the organization, its retail customers, and end consumers in joint value creation.

Dean General, SVP Commercial Development at Henkel, North America, explains, “The market used to run on joint business planning between two parties – manufacturer or supplier and retailer. Now, we have joint value creation that goes from supplier to retailer to shopper, creating a triune connection - the supplier who supports the retailer breeds joint value creation.”

Beyond sales capabilities, a more commercial, strategic mindset transcends silos and creates end-to-end capabilities that match the omni-channel environment.  It’s a way of framing the supply chain.

“In today’s world, where interpretation of data intersects with each customer’s unique needs, you need to be multichannel-oriented,” says Dean. “You can’t be a salesperson anymore; you need to be a commercial person operating end-to-end across the supply chain. You have to be omni-channel because the shopper is. The ‘first moment of truth’ is no longer ‘the shelf.’ The shelf is now the virtual shelf of the retail media network.

Dean continues, “The omni-channel environment allows customers to have a more intimate connection with the brand because they see not only the brand but also online content; if we get that right, we are more likely to generate a purchase. This means a more intelligent use of packaging, product images, and content that further educates an already savvy consumer. They expect more on the path to purchase.”’

Creating ‘joint value’ is not simply about accelerating sales. In our sustainability-focused world, it means eliminating waste, driving down costs, and improving operating margins. Data provides wide-ranging solutions well beyond making a sale.

Dean explains, “As a Chief Sales Officer or Chief Customer Officer, you can ‘buy’ short term growth. It doesn’t necessarily have to eliminate waste, drive down costs, and improve operating income. There are a lot of ways you can buy growth in the short term, but this idea of ‘being commercial’ expands the perspective of end-to-end joint value creation” for both your company and your customers - to deliver sustainable long term growth.

Not Losing Sight of the Customer

Nevertheless, the ‘Chief Commercial Officer’ is neither universal nor the only winning strategy. At Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs Tim Heil, Chief Customer Officer, describes himself as “the champion of the voice of the customer.”

Tim asserts, “The whole customer-centric approach continues to grow... we’re routing everything much more deeply into our [retail] partners’ voices”.

He continues, “It all stems from the importance of championing the customer voice internally because it involves a lot of education, which relies on customer insight and data.”

For Tim, championing the customer’s voice bridges silos and secures functional collaboration. “More collaboration across functions means getting more marketing into the consumer lens as a sales organization, using many different resources to better understand the consumer.”

Terry Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Flowers Foods, agrees with overall perspectives. “The sales function has been moving towards general management for at least two decades, driven by customer and manufacturers working together to solve business challenges in an end-to-end approach to joint business planning.”

At this CPG company known for different bakery brands, the sales function connected data, insights, and innovation at the center, thereby becoming ‘consultants’ on growth targets and proficient in multiple functions. However, aligning the functions to the customer agenda remained difficult.

Reporting to a Chief Growth Officer meant the functions could align and co-create a vision and strategy with the customer. Terry explains, “We can, therefore, make immediate decisions and move straight to execution. It’s been game-changing for us as a company, and we expect to see more of this in our industry.”

What’s the difference at Flowers between Chief Commercial and Chief Growth Officer? “It’s not a standard approach to have R&D reporting into a Chief Commercial Officer,” says Terry. “Some areas, including R&D and M&A, are definitely a differentiator in how you are structured. Chief Growth Officers tend to be more marketers used to dealing with a more strategic agenda.”