What is a supertech leader?

supertech leader (noun)

A senior executive who cultivates a unified view of an organization’s technological landscape, including data, analytics, and digital transformation.

Tech titles have proliferated in organizations in recent years, with chief information officers being joined by chiefs of technology, information security, data and analytics, digital, and, most recently, artificial intelligence.

But that buildup can backfire. In a survey of 266 technology and data leaders that was co-sponsored the MIT Chief Data Officer/Information Quality Symposium, more than 4 out of 5 respondents reported confusion in their organizations around a multitude of tech titles, and uncertainty over where to turn for data- and technology-oriented services and issues.

As a solution, Thomas H. Davenport suggests that companies unify different technology leadership roles under one person — a supertech leader — to provide a holistic view of a company’s technology investments and better align business strategy with technological implementation.

Writing in Harvard Business Review, Davenport, a visiting scholar at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and his co-authors said that supertech leaders fulfill CIO duties but also have broad responsibility for data and technology functions, and many also have operational responsibilities within the business. Leaders of specialty tech and data functions — including data, analytics, AI, and cybersecurity — report to them.

Why Companies Should Consolidate Tech Roles in the C-Suite