Chief Product Officer: What Does a Chief Product Officer Do?

In multi-department companies, a chief product officer (CPO) oversees product-related activities that affect the company's signature offerings. Sometimes referred to as the head of product, director of product management, or VP of product, this C-level executive typically engages with every part of a product lifecycle. That begins with product development and product innovation and goes all the way to product marketing and product analytics.

Chief product officers play a large role in technology companies, where the product typically consists of digital experiences or software as a service (SAAS). Other CPOs facilitate the development of great products at companies that produce physical goods. In both cases, product leaders are expected to display advanced leadership skills and a product vision that serves as a model for the entire product team.

As a C-level executive, a chief product officer typically oversees the following duties.

• Product strategy: The CPO outlines a product vision and strategy that serves to support the development of new products and existing products.
• Product design and development: The CPO oversees design and development teams as they craft a product that offers reliability, value, and a positive user experience.
• Supply chain management: Unless the company has a chief procurement officer in the C-suite, the chief product officer may be tasked with supply chain management—sourcing the raw goods with which a product is built.
• Project management: Product development and support typically require the skills of cross-functional teams that touch different areas of a business. A CPO may facilitate collaboration between these teams to complete a specific project.
• Product marketing and sales: The CPO will interface with the company's marketing team and sales team to help shape a roadmap for a customer's overall product experience—from seeing the very first ad to buying the product to using the product to receiving customer service as needed. The CPO may weigh in on pricing and claims made in the company's ads. When products meet the expectations set by marketing and sales teams, customer retention often follows—a key metric of success for CPOs.
• Product analytics: The CPO role also involves monitoring key performance indicators (KPI) which are metrics related to product sales, product usage, and customer retention. For instance, a company can track how customers use a piece of software or a device connected to the internet. The CPO will then use that data to inform product innovations designed to meet customer needs.

All members of a product team report to a company's chief product officer. Cross-functional teams, which have multiple stakeholders, may also report to the CPO depending upon the nature of their work.

In tech companies, the chief product officer typically has equal status to the chief technology officer (CTO) and chief marketing officer (CMO). All would report to the company's CEO or—if the company has one—its chief operating officer (COO). Small startups may not have a chief product officer, particularly if they have too few employees to fill a distinct product team.

Expect to face a number of requirements when applying to be a chief product officer.

1. 1. Higher education: Most companies require their CPO to hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
2. 2. Work experience: Companies typically look for CPOs who have years of experience serving on a product team.
3. 3. Communication skills: As a supervisor of many employees, a CPO must draw on a strong communication skill set to convey objectives, promote employee ambitions, and respond to employee concerns.
4. 4. Business acumen: A chief product officer must think practically about how their company's products fit into the broader marketplace, combining high quality standards with a compelling sales proposition.
5. 5. Organization: A chief product officer will have to balance many objectives, from product design to raw goods procurement to user experience. Successful CPOs can balance these competing interests and channel them toward a unified product vision.
6. 6. Mentoring: A chief product officer needs to identify new talent and mentor employees to take on greater roles within the broader product organization.

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