The Role of CTO

Camille Fournier, CTO, Rent the Runway@skamille

A Rantifesto!

ARE YOU A VESTIGIAL APPENDAGE?

YOUR JOB IS ALWAYS CHANGING, YOUR COMPANY IS ALWAYS EVOLVING

GROW AND EVOLVE WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY

!CTO

THE BEST ENGINEER IN THE COMPANY

The natural conclusion of a successful engineering career

THE SAME THING AT EVERY COMPANY

So then, what IS a CTO?

A strategic role

AN EXECUTIVE ROLE

A TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP ROLE

How do I keep up?

Don’t give up the management stuff too quickly!

LEARN ABOUT THE BUSINESS YOUR BUSINESS IS IN

Focus on collaborating with people outside of engineering

We are more than “just programmers”

Show up for what is needed.

People … grow according to the demands they make on themselves. They grow

according to what they consider to be achievement and

attainment. If they demand little of themselves, they will remain stunted. If they demand a good

deal of themselves, they will grow to giant stature—without

any more effort than is expended by the nonachievers.

Peter Drucker, “The Effective Executive”

EVOLVE

@skamille