Chief technology officer

A chief technology officer (CTO) (also known as a chief technical officer or chief technologist) is an officer tasked with managing technical operations of an organization. They oversee and supervise research and development and serve as a technical advisor to a higher executive such as a chief executive officer.

A CTO is very similar to a chief information officer (CIO). CTOs will make decisions for the overarching technology infrastructure that closely align with the organization's goals, while CIOs work alongside the organization's information technology ("IT") staff members to perform everyday operations. The attributes of the roles a CTO holds vary from one company to the next, mainly depending on their organizational structure.