Own it: who owns digital transformation?

Summary

This CEOWORLD piece argues that real change requires clear ownership inside organisations. The authors identify four strategic “battles”—technology, sustainability, collaborative marketing (engagement and dialogue) and a mindset of change—and say the common thread is putting collective data and the “us” before the “I”. They propose three practical organisational scenarios to accelerate digital transformation: creating a Chief Transformation Officer, forming a CEO-led committee of chiefs, or merging CMO and CIO/CTO responsibilities into a single role (a Chief Total Marketing Officer). The article emphasises culture, reskilling, and measurable KPIs tied to technology adoption, sustainability goals and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Points

Digital transformation needs explicit ownership, not a mythical all-capable individual.
Four strategic priorities: technological breakthroughs, sustainability, collaborative marketing, and a mindset of change.
Three recommended organisational models: Chief Transformation Officer; CEO-coordinated chiefs committee; or a merged CMO + CIO/CTO role.
KPIs should track tech adoption timelines, Net Zero progress, infrastructure for stakeholder communication, and continuous reskilling/upskilling.
Risk: siloed transformation roles can over-focus on short-term metrics; integrated roles must still deliver hard KPIs.
Marketing reimagined as “Total Marketing” — using tech and data to create sustainable, co-created value across suppliers, employees and customers.

Content summary

The article opens by reframing what change is for organisations and why collective data and collaboration matter. It argues the crucial immediate shift is cultural: people, processes and mindset must come before technology roll-outs. Technology will help, but only if organisational ownership and structure enable speed and scale.

The authors present three actionable scenarios. First, appoint a Chief Transformation Officer inside the C-suite with explicit KPIs and board reporting. Second, form a small committee of chiefs, led by a CEO who personally owns transformation outcomes. Third, merge marketing and technology leadership so the organisation’s customer insight and tech backbone are managed as one function—illustrated by Coop Switzerland’s example. Across all scenarios the same hard KPIs apply: when to adopt exponential technologies, achieving sustainability goals (eg Net Zero), enabling fast cross-departmental collaboration, and continuous workforce reskilling.

Finally, the piece makes a broader case for “Total Marketing” — marketing that uses tech and shared data to reduce environmental impact, foster collaboration across stakeholders and upgrade capitalism by sharing success across the value chain.

Context and relevance

This is a timely strategic note for executives wrestling with slow or fragmented transformation. As AI, blockchain and data platforms reshape markets, unclear ownership and misaligned incentives are common failure points. The article connects transformation to sustainability and talent—areas boardrooms cannot afford to treat separately. Its three models provide practical alternatives depending on company size, CEO disposition and existing C-suite strengths.

Why should I read this?

If you care about making transformation actually happen (rather than just talking about it), this is a quick, practical read. It gives you three clean, executable structures to try — plus the KPIs to make them stick. We’ve skimmed the fluff and pulled the bits you can act on this week.

Author’s take

Punchy and pragmatic: the article pushes leaders to stop outsourcing responsibility to vague roles and to put clear ownership, budget and KPIs behind transformation. For any CEO, CHRO, CMO, CIO or board member, its scenarios are worth debating at the next leadership offsite.