In Search of the Chief Experience
By Amit Asaravala
In the early nineties, most tech companies had four top executives: chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief technology officer, and chief financial officer. The number of C-level officers has grown as a result of the structural changes taking place in the new economy. It's no longer surprising to learn of a company's new chief evangelist, or to read about chief privacy officers, chief knowledge officers, and even chief talent scouts.
One position that more and more service companies are making room for is the chief experience officer (CXO). In June of last year, HannaHodge (www.hannahodge.com)—a user experience firm based in Chicago—brought Marc Rettig on as its chief experience officer, responsible for ensuring that user experience is integrated with every step of the process at HannaHodge. I recently had the opportunity to discuss the role of the CXO with Challis Hodge, CEO of HannaHodge.
How do you define the CXO position?
The CXO should ensure that an organization delivers the appropriate experience at every point of contact it makes with the public. This CXO must understand the processes, methods, and tools necessary to understand people, and should be able to translate that understanding into successful points of contact with users, customers, shareholders, employees, partners, and visitors.
In a professional services environment such as HannaHodge, our CXO is both inwardly focused and outwardly focused. HannaHodge was founded and built on the very premise that user experience was going to be a critical factor for businesses that succeed in the future and that delivering quality experiences would require a new way of working and thinking about business.
