April 29, 2013 | Robert Berkman
A new force is stepping into the C-suite — an upstart whose arrival signals how a company will manage social media and other digital technologies: the chief digital officer, or CDO. Appearing in many industries, CDOs share a similar mandate: provide oversight and strategy, and create a big-picture view of how social and digital technologies can make a difference to the entire organization.
One industry where CDOs are making headway is in higher education. The increased interest and activity in delivery of online classes and the rise of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are spurring administrators to take a deeper look at the role of social and other digital technologies in delivering educational content.
One newly appointed chief digital officer is Sree Sreenivasan at Columbia University. Sreenivasan, who was appointed to his position in July 2012 and reports to the Provost, told us that Columbia created his position to have a single person be responsible for cataloging, coordinating and shepherding what was going on in digital delivery of education, and to think about all of these changes from a broader strategic level.