Companies create a CGO position when they want one senior executive to coordinate different activities around a common growth strategy. For example, marketing may generate customers, sales may convert them, and product teams may improve the customer experience. A CGO can bring these functions together and establish measurable growth targets.
The position can therefore help a company identify new markets, increase revenue, acquire and retain customers, develop new products, build partnerships, and find additional sources of growth. However, not every company needs a CGO; responsibilities vary considerably between organizations.
Who Introduced the CGO Position?
There is no universally recognized single person credited as the inventor of the CGO position. However, one of the earliest clearly documented corporate introductions is from Colgate-Palmolive.
On March 27, 2000, Colgate-Palmolive announced the promotion of Javier G. Teruel to its newly created position of Chief Growth Officer of the Corporation. Colgate stated that the position would bring several growth-related functions under one executive, including global business development, marketing and new-product planning, research and development, manufacturing technology, information technology, and strategic planning Therefore, Javier G. Teruel can reasonably be described as the earliest documented corporate CGO identified in this research, while Colgate-Palmolive was an early company to formally create the position. The title subsequently became much more prominent during the 2000s and especially during the 2010s. A 2005 Journal of Business Strategy article was already discussing the emerging “chief growth officer” trend.
Who Was the World's First CGO?
Based on the earliest reliable corporate announcement located, Javier G. Teruel of Colgate-Palmolive is the earliest documented person I found holding the formal title Chief Growth Officer.
After Which Position Can You Become a CGO?
There is no mandatory position that must come immediately before CGO. Because CGO is a C-suite position, companies normally look for extensive leadership and growth experience.
Common career routes include:
Marketing/Sales Manager → Director → VP/SVP → CGO
or
Business Development → Director → VP Business Development → CGO
or
Head of Growth → VP Growth → CGO
Experienced CMOs, CROs, COOs, business-development executives, and senior product or strategy leaders may also move into a CGO role, depending on the company's structure.
