For any business where technology shapes the product, experience, or ability to scale, the CTO is a pivotal hire. Here is how to approach it.
Define what the CTO is really for
A CTO can mean very different things — a hands-on technical leader building a product, an executive owning the platforms and data a consumer business runs on, or a strategic leader driving digital transformation. Before hiring, define which your business needs, because the profiles are genuinely different. A mis-scoped CTO search is the most common reason the appointment disappoints.
Technical depth and commercial judgement
The strongest CTOs pair genuine technical capability with commercial judgement — connecting technology decisions to business outcomes rather than pursuing technology for its own sake. In consumer and beauty businesses especially, look for a leader who understands the brand and customer, not only the code. Purely technical leaders without commercial sensibility often struggle at the executive table.
Match to the stage
A CTO who builds a first technical capability is a different hire from one who scales an established platform or transforms a legacy one. Define the stage — building, scaling, or transforming — and hire the leader whose experience fits. As the business grows, the role itself changes, and the leader who is right now may need complementing later; that is normal, not a failure.
How the search works
Because technical roles are hard to assess without technical rigour, a retained search that can genuinely evaluate both the technical and leadership dimensions is well suited to finding the right CTO for your specific mandate.
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Explore Digital & Technology Search →Frequently asked questions
What should you look for when hiring a CTO?
A blend of genuine technical depth and commercial judgement, matched to what technology is really for in your business (building a product, running platforms, or transformation) and to your stage (building, scaling, or transforming).
What is the most common mistake in hiring a CTO?
Not defining what the CTO is actually for — a hands-on builder, a platform-and-data executive, and a transformation leader are different profiles, and a mis-scoped search leads to the wrong hire.
Related: What Does a Chief Technology Officer Do? · What Does a Chief Information Officer Do? · How to Hire a Chief Digital Officer
