Chief data officers · the role
What does a chief data officer do?
The short answer · updated
A chief data officer (CDO) owns how an organisation manages and uses its data. The CDO sets the data strategy, runs data governance and quality, decides the data architecture and tools, makes data usable across the business, and makes sure it is used lawfully and ethically. The CDO reports to the chief executive or another executive.
What a chief data officer is responsible for
The government’s Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework says a chief data officer ensures the organisation can use data to make better decisions, and creates an environment where data protection and privacy are balanced with access, sharing and innovation. It was written for the civil service, but its list of duties is a fair picture of the job in any organisation:
- define a data strategy that serves the organisation’s objectives, and lead its delivery;
- decide what data and data technology the organisation needs, and how to source it;
- make sure data can be used, reused and shared by the people who need it;
- improve the quality of the data used across the organisation;
- make sure data is used ethically and in line with data standards and regulations;
- raise data literacy across the organisation, and build the data skills it needs;
- work with cyber security so data stays secure while remaining accessible.
Who a chief data officer reports to
A chief data officer reports to the chief executive or to another executive, often the chief operating officer, chief financial officer or chief information officer. Where the CDO sits says a lot about the job: under the CFO the focus tends to be reporting and data quality; under the CIO, platforms and architecture; under the chief executive, data as a source of growth.
Data engineers, data architects, analysts, data governance leads and sometimes data scientists report into the CDO. The government’s data ownership model describes the CDO as a senior executive with enterprise-wide responsibility for data and information strategy, working with senior data owners in each business area and the data stewards who run the data day to day.
The data protection officer is a separate role. The ICO says a DPO must report to the highest management level and cannot hold a position that decides the purposes and means of processing personal data. A CDO who decides how data is used is usually not the right person to be the DPO. A CDO appointed to the board carries a director’s general duties, which Companies House sets out.
Chief data officer vs CIO vs CTO
A chief data officer owns the data itself: its strategy, quality, governance, architecture and use. The question is whether the organisation’s data is trustworthy, usable and used well.
A chief information officer (CIO) owns the organisation’s internal technology and information systems. The government’s framework describes the chief digital and information officer as shaping the organisation’s strategy through digital, data and technology, and as a trusted adviser to the board. In some organisations data sits under the CIO; see what a CIO does.
A chief technology officer (CTO) is, in the framework’s words, the organisation’s technology strategist: technical direction, technology architecture and resilience. In a technology company the CTO usually owns the product’s engineering; see what a CTO does.
“CDO” can also mean chief digital officer, a different role focused on digital products, channels and transformation. See fractional chief digital officer roles.
The law a chief data officer works within
Much of the data an organisation holds is personal data, so the CDO works within the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and, for marketing, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 updated these laws. The ICO’s summary for organisations explains that the Act amends, but does not replace, the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act and PECR, and that most changes give organisations an option to do things differently rather than a new requirement. It covers research use, automated decision-making, cookies and a new requirement to handle data protection complaints.
A CDO does not need to be a lawyer, but needs to know where the law constrains the data strategy, and to work closely with the DPO and the general counsel.
Fractional, interim and permanent chief data officers
A permanent chief data officer suits an organisation where data is central to the product, the regulation or the decisions the board makes every week.
A fractional chief data officer works a set number of days a week or month: writing the data strategy, setting up governance, choosing the platform, hiring the first data leads, then handing over. It suits growing companies that need senior data judgement but not five days of it. See fractional CDO roles.
An interim chief data officer works full-time for a fixed period, often to cover a vacancy, lead a data platform migration or prepare for an audit or regulatory review.
Where a fractional or interim CDO works through their own limited company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
What a chief data officer earns
Pay depends on the size of the organisation, the sector, how regulated its data is, location and whether the role sits on the executive committee. Permanent CDOs are paid a salary, usually with a bonus; fractional and interim CDOs a day rate.
We set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on every shortlist. For neighbouring roles, see fractional CTO salary and fractional CIO salary.
How to hire a chief data officer
Start with the problem. Is it untrusted numbers, data trapped in systems that do not talk to each other, a regulator asking questions, or a plan to use data or AI for growth? Each points to a different kind of CDO: a governance and quality builder, a platform and architecture lead, or a commercial data leader.
Decide the reporting line and how the CDO will work with the CIO, CTO and DPO before you write the brief. Then test the work: the CIPD’s guidance on selection methods favours structured interviews and skill-based assessment tasks. Ask candidates to review a real data problem from your business.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary data leaders. To hire a chief data officer, see our chief data officer page; every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
Questions people ask
Is a chief data officer the same as a CIO?
No. A CIO owns the organisation’s technology and information systems; a CDO owns the data: strategy, quality, governance and use. In some organisations the CDO reports to the CIO. See what a CIO does.
What is the difference between a chief data officer and a CTO?
A CTO sets technical direction and owns the technology architecture, and in a technology company usually the product’s engineering. A CDO owns the data and how it is used. See what a CTO does.
Can the chief data officer also be the data protection officer?
Usually not. The ICO says a DPO cannot hold a position that decides the purposes and means of processing personal data, and a CDO typically makes those decisions.
Does every company need a chief data officer?
No. Many smaller companies give data leadership to the CTO, CIO or CFO, or bring in a fractional CDO to set the strategy and governance. A permanent CDO makes sense when data is central to the product, the regulation or the board’s decisions.
Can I hire a fractional chief data officer?
Yes. A fractional CDO works part of the week or month, usually to set the data strategy, governance and platform, then hand over. See fractional CDO roles.
How much does it cost to hire a chief data officer?
A permanent CDO is paid a salary, usually with a bonus; a fractional or interim CDO a day rate. On every shortlist we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position.
How do I hire a chief data officer?
Define the data problem, decide the reporting line and how the CDO works with the CIO, CTO and DPO, then test candidates on a real data problem. Our chief data officer page sets out the options; we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
