Career guide
Chief Growth Officer: What the Role Is and How to Become One
A chief growth officer is the executive accountable for revenue or customer growth, usually overseeing marketing plus some mix of sales, product growth, partnerships and customer insight. Head of growth and VP of growth are the same idea at smaller companies or one level down.
Key takeaways
- A chief growth officer owns a growth number for the whole company, while a CMO usually owns marketing as a function.
- The CGO title often covers marketing plus sales, partnerships, pricing, product growth or customer insight, and the mix differs at every company.
- Head of growth and VP of growth are the more common titles at startups and mid-size companies.
- Most chief growth officers come from marketing, product or general management, with a record of growing a business they were accountable for.
- In a CGO interview, expect to diagnose where the company's growth is coming from and where it's stuck.
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The growth title means different things at different companies, so the first job when you see one is to work out which version it is. At a consumer brand, a chief growth officer might be a CMO who also runs insights and innovation. At a software company, a VP of growth might run experiments on sign-up and onboarding with a team of engineers. Both are growth leaders. They need different proof.
What does a chief growth officer do?
A chief growth officer sets the company’s growth plan and is accountable for hitting it, using whichever levers the role controls. Those levers often include marketing, sales or commercial teams, pricing, partnerships, new markets and product-led growth.
A typical week:
- Review the growth numbers with the CEO and finance: revenue or customers against plan, by segment, channel and market.
- Decide where the next growth comes from: new customers, more from existing ones, new products or new markets.
- Allocate budget and people across the teams the role controls.
- Run the leadership team: marketing, growth, sales, insights or partnerships leaders, depending on scope.
- Work with product on what gets built to win or keep customers.
- Talk to customers and partners, or read the research, to keep the plan grounded.
- Report to the board on growth, what’s working and what’s changing.
Chief growth officer vs CMO
The difference is usually scope and accountability. A CMO runs the marketing function; a CGO is handed a growth target and the teams that can move it.
| Chief growth officer | CMO | |
|---|---|---|
| Accountable for | Revenue or customer growth | Marketing’s contribution: brand, demand, pipeline |
| Often controls | Marketing plus sales, partnerships, pricing, insights or product growth | Marketing teams and agencies |
| Measured on | Growth against plan, sometimes profit | Brand health, pipeline, marketing efficiency |
| Common at | Consumer goods, retail, software, companies reorganizing for growth | Most mid-size and large companies |
Some companies give the CMO title the same scope; some use CGO for a marketing role with a new name. Read the reporting lines in the posting. Our how to become a CMO guide covers the CMO path.
Head of growth and VP of growth
Head of growth and VP of growth usually mean a leader of a growth team that runs experiments across acquisition, activation and retention. The role is common at startups and app or software companies. It often reports to the CEO or the CMO, and it works closely with product and data. It’s narrower than most CGO roles and more hands-on.
| Title | Usual scope | Usually reports to |
|---|---|---|
| Head of growth | A small growth team, often still running channels and tests | CEO, CMO or head of product |
| VP of growth | Growth marketing, lifecycle, growth product, analytics | CEO or CMO |
| Chief growth officer | Company-wide growth, often several functions | CEO |
Chief growth officer job description
A chief growth officer job description needs to say plainly what number the person owns and which teams report to them. Copy and fill in the [brackets].
Job title: Chief Growth Officer [or VP of Growth / Head of Growth] About [Company] [Two sentences: what you sell, to whom, and where the business is now.] About the role We're hiring a [title] to own [growth goal: e.g. revenue growth / new customer growth / growth in [market]]. You'll lead [teams: e.g. marketing, growth, partnerships and insights], about [X] people and [budget], and report to the CEO. What you'll do - Set the growth strategy and annual plan, with targets agreed with the CEO and board. - Lead [teams] and decide how budget and people are allocated across them. - Find and prioritize growth opportunities: [new segments / channels / markets / products / pricing]. - Build a testing and measurement practice so we know what's driving growth. - Work with product and [sales] so the experience, offer and pricing support growth. - Report progress to the board and keep the company focused on a few priorities. What you'll bring - [10-15]+ years in [marketing / growth / product / general management], with [X] years leading leaders. - A record of growing a business or product line you were accountable for. - Comfort with financial models, unit economics and data. - Experience across [brand / performance / sales / partnerships / product]. - Clear communication with boards, executives and teams. How we'll measure success - [Metric 1: e.g. revenue or customer growth against plan] - [Metric 2: e.g. acquisition efficiency or payback] - [Metric 3: e.g. growth from new segments or markets] Pay and benefits [Salary range], [equity / bonus], [benefits], [location].
Skills and tools
A chief growth officer needs commercial judgment more than channel expertise, and the leadership skill to get several functions pulling in one direction.
| Skill | What it’s for | How to show it on a resume |
|---|---|---|
| Growth strategy | Choosing where growth comes from | “Shifted focus to [segment or market], growing [metric] [X%]” |
| Unit economics and finance | CAC, lifetime value, margin, payback | A budget decision and its financial result |
| Experimentation at scale | Testing before scaling | A testing program you built and what it changed |
| Leading leaders | Running several functions or teams | Team size, functions led, leaders hired |
| Cross-functional influence | Product, sales and finance alignment | A growth project you led across teams |
| Customer insight | Knowing why people buy and leave | Research that changed the plan |
| Board communication | Reporting progress and asking for investment | A plan the board approved and funded |
Led [functions] ([X] people, [budget]) as [title]; grew [revenue / customers] [X%] in [timeframe] by [the two or three main moves], while [improving / holding] [efficiency metric].
How to become a chief growth officer
Most chief growth officers get there by owning a growth number earlier in their career, not only a marketing budget. The steps:
- Own a number early. Revenue, customers or a product line. Ask for the P&L or target, not only the campaign.
- Work across functions. Time in product, sales, strategy or general management makes the CGO scope feel familiar.
- Build a testing habit. Growth leaders are trusted when they can show why something worked.
- Lead leaders. Move from managing a team to managing managers, ideally of more than one discipline.
- Learn the finance. Understand margin, payback and how the board reads your plan.
- Get the step-up role first. Head of growth, VP of growth or a general manager role are the usual stepping stones.
How to get experience without the title
If you’re a marketing director, volunteer to lead a cross-functional growth project: a new market launch, a pricing test, a retention program. One project like this, with a number you owned, changes how your experience reads. If you’re in product, own a growth metric with marketing. A fractional CMO or interim role can also give you board-level growth experience.
Career path
The CGO role usually sits at the top of the commercial side of a company.
| Before | The role | After |
|---|---|---|
| VP marketing, VP growth, head of growth, general manager, CMO, VP product, commercial director | Chief growth officer | CEO, chief commercial officer, general manager of a larger unit, board or advisory roles |
How much does a chief growth officer make?
BLS has no separate figure for chief growth officers. Our CMO salary page explains the nearest government figures and where executive marketing pay sits. Executive pay usually includes bonus and equity on top of salary, which government data doesn’t capture.
Interview questions to expect
CGO and VP growth interviews test commercial judgment, how you’d diagnose this company’s growth and how you lead across functions. Expect:
- "Where is our growth coming from, and where is it stuck?" Tests your research and your diagnosis.
- "What would you do in your first 90 days?" Tests your listening plan and the decisions you’d make early. Our 30-60-90 day plan guide helps.
- "How would you split growth investment between new and existing customers?" Tests unit economics and judgment.
- "Tell me about a growth bet that didn’t pay off." Tests honesty and how you decide to stop.
- "How do you work with product and sales?" Tests influence without control.
- "How do you report growth to the board?" Tests which numbers you trust.
At this level, boards and CEOs are choosing a partner they’ll work with through good quarters and bad ones. Use the example answers for structure, then tell your stories your own way, including what you’d do differently. The CMO interview questions page covers many of the same executive questions with example answers.
Research the company before the interview
A growth executive interview is a diagnosis. Come in knowing where the company’s demand comes from, how its search interest compares with rivals, what customers say and what it’s spending on. Recon researches a company’s marketing before the interview, so you can walk in with a point of view on where the growth is.
FAQ
Is a chief growth officer higher than a CMO?
Not always. Both are usually C-level and report to the CEO. Some companies have both, with the CGO owning growth across functions and the CMO owning marketing; others have one or the other.
What’s the difference between a head of growth and a chief growth officer?
A head of growth usually leads a growth team that runs experiments across the funnel, often at a startup. A chief growth officer is an executive responsible for company-wide growth, usually across several functions.
Do you need an MBA to become a chief growth officer?
No. Some CGOs have one, and it can help with finance and strategy. A record of growing a business you were accountable for matters more.
Can a performance marketer become a head of growth?
Yes, it’s a common route. The step up is widening from paid acquisition to the whole funnel, including activation, retention and product changes, and leading a team that does all of it.
How is a chief growth officer different from a chief revenue officer?
A chief revenue officer usually owns the teams that bring in revenue directly, such as sales, account management and sometimes marketing, and is measured on bookings. A chief growth officer is more often measured on growth across acquisition, retention and new markets, and may not run sales at all. Titles vary, so check who reports to the role in the posting.
What is a fractional chief growth officer?
A fractional chief growth officer works part time for one or more companies, usually startups that need senior growth leadership but can’t justify a full-time executive. The setup works like a fractional CMO: a set number of days a month, focused on strategy, hiring and the growth plan.