Written by James Harris, CEO & Founder at Seraph Science

“What does a title mean today?”

C-Suite ‘bloat’ is in the news at the moment. We’re not talking waistlines though – we’re talking about the the number and type of CxO roles within larger organisations. Is it necessary or is it just playing to people’s vanity?

This BBC News article examines why the C-Suite has grown enormously in the last few decades. Factors include: global companies operate in complex environments; public accountability of CEOs on socio-political and economic issues; and growing technological complexity demanding a broader skillset.

There is evidence of over-hiring – C-Suite roles with overlapping spheres of responsibility – and some roles that are more superficial, so-called ‘temporary’ executives. There’s a case for a fractional executives covering some of these roles that are targeting a mid-term strategic concern (e.g. Chief AI Officers).

(I still think dogs as Chief Happiness Officers is a no-brainer though).

The CEO is one person, and no matter how qualified, they will need help navigating today’s business landscape, so there is value in an expanded C-Suite. But with more than 150 C-Suite titles, the impact of the title is diluted in all but the most important roles.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the C-Suite is becoming ‘bloated’ as the article suggests? Or is this trend necessary to keep up with the evolving business landscape? hashtag#csuite hashtag#cxo hashtag#chiefs hashtag#bbcnews hashtag#seraph hashtag#b2bmarketing hashtag#marketing

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