Understanding CXO Archetypes: Chief Technology Officer

Each function within a business is unique. Similarly, the executives leading those functions are unique and bring particular skills and experience to their roles. No individual can be an expert at everything, and while a CXO might thrive in one situation, they might not be well suited for another. 

At Bolster, we believe there are common types of leaders within a business function, whether marketing, finance, revenue, or product. We refer to these commonalities as CXO Archetypes. When we advise our clients on a search, archetypes are a useful tool to help identify the right talent for their needs.

While anyone at an executive level will bring a wealth of experience to their functional area, each person will have preferences, values, and deeper experience in certain areas and skills. Understanding where an executive excels within their function (their archetype), and knowing what type of functional leader your business needs, significantly increases your likelihood of making a successful hire. 

In this series, we’re breaking down the most common archetypes of senior executives across marketing, finance, revenue, product, and people. We’ve identified three common archetypes of the Chief Technology Officer (sometimes called the Chief Product Officer). In this post, we’re looking at what makes each archetype unique, when your business might need that type of technology or product leader, and how to identify them when you’re hiring a CTO.

The Visionary

The Visionary is defined by a strong and compelling vision for product development. They use their persuasive skills to gain buy-in from teams and stakeholders, and relish the opportunity to take ownership of the product direction and shape its future. This CTO thrives in partnership with the Founder or CEO, and their greatest satisfaction comes from shipping beautifully crafted end-user products that have a tangible impact. While technical excellence informs their decisions, they are not overly analytical or data-driven; instead, they prioritize creativity, intuition, and overall experience, using data as a guide rather than a rulebook.

When to Hire The Visionary:

The Visionary CTO is an ideal hire for organizations in need of strong, creative product leadership. In the early stages, they excel as a product co-founder, shaping the vision from the ground up when the founder or CEO lacks deep product expertise. They can also be brought in at a later stage to reinvent or breathe new life into a legacy product, driving innovation and bold, transformative changes. Additionally, they are often a great fit for big brands, B2C companies, or highly innovative products that require a strong, consumer-focused vision to stay competitive and cutting-edge.

How to Identify The Visionary:

Look for candidates with significant startup and co-founder experience, which can indicate a track record of scaling teams, navigating uncertainty, and driving technical vision from the ground up. These leaders often possess deep product innovation experience, having overseen breakthrough technologies or disruptive solutions that address unmet market needs. Additionally, seek out candidates with experience reinventing legacy products, as this reflects their ability to modernize outdated systems, leverage emerging technologies, and transform established businesses for future growth.

The Executor

The Executor has a unique talent for taking a Founder or CEO's product vision and transforming it into a clear, actionable strategy. They thrive in environments with a product-led CEO, where they can focus on optimizing processes, scaling the technology, and driving efficiency to meet ambitious goals. With a strong sense of urgency and a focus on developing high-performing teams, they ensure that execution is seamless and aligned with the company's vision. Known for their excellent communication skills, they can inspire and rally the entire organization, ensuring that everyone is working cohesively towards achieving the company's objectives.

When to Hire The Executor:

The Executor is best suited for organizations at critical stages where strong operational leadership is essential. In the early stages, they complement a product visionary founder or CEO by translating ambitious ideas into executable plans, focusing on building scalable technology and efficient processes. As a co-founder or partner, they bring structure and ensure the vision is realized with urgency and precision. At scale, they’re invaluable for optimizing and streamlining systems, managing rapid growth, and leading large teams to execute on the founder's vision while maintaining operational excellence and agility.

How to Identify The Executor:

Focus on candidates with startup and co-founder experience, demonstrating their ability to not only build a company from scratch but also establish and optimize operational processes to support growth. These candidates will emphasize details about process and KPIs, showing a results-driven approach where they have implemented frameworks to measure and improve team performance, product development cycles, and delivery timelines. Look for a strong focus on market-fit and scaling, where the candidate has successfully brought products to market, ensured alignment with customer needs, and has led the technical infrastructure and team through rapid scaling phases.

The GM

The GM is a leader with strong cross-functional collaboration skills, blending leadership with a sharp sense of business acumen. They excel at aligning business strategy with product strategy, thus ensuring technology decisions directly support the company's broader objectives. Unlike more product-focused CTOs, the GM CTO prioritizes metrics, data, and market-driven insights over the aesthetics or feel of the product itself. Their attention is on understanding the competitive landscape, identifying where the company should head, and determining how to outmaneuver competitors by leveraging market dynamics and effectively targeting the right customers.

When to Hire The GM:

The GM is the ideal hire for a company at a mature stage of growth, particularly when managing a complex, multi-line product portfolio with numerous stakeholders. At this point, the company needs a technology leader who can tie business strategy to product execution while maintaining a strong focus on metrics, efficiency, and cross-functional alignment. The GM CTO excels at navigating the complexities of scale, ensuring that technology supports broader business goals, and leading teams to deliver results in highly dynamic, competitive markets. Their ability to collaborate across departments and manage diverse product lines makes them crucial for steering the company through its next phase of growth.

How to Identify The GM:

Look for candidates with large-stage company experience, which signals their ability to manage and lead within complex, scaled organizations. They will have experience scaling product teams, showcasing their expertise in growing and structuring technical departments to handle increased demands while maintaining alignment with business objectives. Additionally, look for evidence of deep organizational change, where the candidate has driven transformative initiatives, such as restructuring teams, implementing new technologies, or streamlining processes to increase efficiency and agility across the company. 

When it comes to hiring a Chief Technology Officer, it’s important to understand what your business needs most and align your search around the persona that most closely matches your needs. While you may find your ideal technology and product leader embodies aspects of multiple archetypes, this framework can be a useful tool as you prioritize your requirements and identify the types of candidates you most want to consider. 

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At Bolster, we’re reinventing executive search by combining the power of experienced recruiters with our intelligent sourcing platform. Built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, Bolster matches CEOs with transformational executives for full-time, fractional, and board roles—without the hassle of traditional talent sourcing. It’s smarter search done faster and with more confidence.

When you work with Bolster, our extraordinary team will work alongside you to make your search a success. We take the time to listen, understand, and respond to your needs, support you throughout your search, and offer our expertise as a resource. 

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