What is a Chief Technology Officer?

What is a CTO?

Technology is constantly changing and evolving, which makes it important to stay ahead of technological trends and not let your business fall behind. With the right executive leadership team, you can ensure that your company's key goals will be met for years to come.  

A Chief Technology officer, also known as a CTO, is part of the executive leadership team that oversees the organization's technology department and strategy. This individual is responsible for managing and implementing the company's technology resources. CTO's play a critical role in businesses and the success they have.  

What skills or background are needed to be a CTO?

Typically, this executive level position requires a bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Administration or another related field to get you in the door. A CTO should have several years of hands-on experience in software engineering, have successfully integrated products and solutions, and have sound experience leading an IT team within an organization. CTO's should also be able to build a strong technological foundation for the company and be able to create effective strategies to enhance existing ones.  

There are tons of qualities that make a good Chief Technology Officer. Below are the top eight qualities that make up a great CTO.  

What makes a great CTO:

- Vast technical knowledge

- Up to date with tech trends  

- Excellent communication skills

- Strategic mastermind and planner

- Team leader and team player

- Encourages employee growth  

- Provides performance feedback

- Sets team goals (long and short term)

What are the core responsibilities of a CTO?

Essentially, CTO's are hired to provide solid technical leadership for all aspects of a company's operation. Being well versed in the latest technological trends and a range of business concepts can help prepare an individual for this executive level role.

Responsibilities of a CTO may include:

- Serve as the principal technology advisor

- Design and execute focused technical roadmap

- Support organization’s security efforts

- Develop and present reports on tech goals and progress

- Identify business risks and opportunities

- Build and maintain existing technical products

- Hire and manage engineering team

- Monitor KPIs and IT budgets

- Communicate with partners and investors

Meet a CTO

Now that you have a better understanding of what a CTO is and what they do, you can strengthen your knowledge base by attending a CTO focused online webinar.  

Intrinio is excited to present our first CTO focused virtual event next week Tuesday, June 7^th, 2022, at 11:00 AM EST. If you’re interested in learning more about this executive role, you can easily reserve your spot here, and we encourage attendees to send in any question(s) that they’d like to ask a CTO.

This online webinar will feature our CTO Matt Von Lintel and will be moderated by our CEO & Co-founder Rachel Carpenter. The event will take place on LinkedIn, and it’s a terrific opportunity for anyone interested in the fintech industry, engineers, tech leaders, CTOs, founders, or tech enthusiasts. Learn about the challenges that come with the role, the engineering hiring process, and much more. Join us next week and don’t forget to grab your free cup of Starbucks coffee before the event - the coffee’s on us, check your email the day before!