Appointing a chief digital officer (CDO) to be responsible for driving a digital agenda could be disastrous for many traditional firms, writes Forrester Principal Analyst Martin Gill in a new blog post. “Rushing out and hiring a digital upstart could set many firms back, rather than propel them forward. Not many people are both digitally savvy enough to develop a bold vision for the future and really know how to drive a transformation on this scale. In many cases, such a fundamental shift for a firm may be better led by the CEO with the support of the entire C-suite.”

In his post, Gill outlines three examples of brands that have forged ahead without a CDO leading the charge — Amazon, Burberry, and Blockbuster — and explores why in most cases hiring a CDO is not the answer to getting ahead. 

“If you boil it back to the core, underlying issue, it’s that firms that weren’t born digital need to get digital pretty damn quick. To drive the scale and level of change we are talking about here, two key competencies are required: the ability to develop and articulate a digital vision and the ability to embed large-scale cultural change into an organization.” Ultimately, notes Gill, you need an organization that thinks digital first to be successful. 

To learn more, visit the full blog post here.