A chief scientific officer ( CSO ) is a position at the head of scientific research operations at organizations or companies performing significant scientific research projects.
31-454: A CSO is typically responsible for envisioning and developing research capabilities (human, methodological, and technological) for developing evidence of the validity and utility of research products, and for communicating with the scientific and customer communities concerning capabilities and scientific product offerings. In some organizations, the same person may hold this title along with that of chief technology officer (CTO). Alternatively,
62-435: A chief technical officer or chief technologist ) is an officer tasked with managing technical operations of an organization. They oversee and supervise research and development and serve as a technical advisor to a higher executive such as a chief executive officer . A CTO is very similar to a chief information officer (CIO). CTOs will make decisions for the overarching technology infrastructure that closely align with
93-414: A company could have one or the other, or both occupied by separate people. Often, CSOs exist in heavily research-oriented companies; while CTOs exist in product development focused companies. The typical category of research and development that exists in many science and technology companies can be led by either post, depending upon which area is the organization's primary focus. A CSO almost always has
124-414: A company, these individuals are sometimes differentiated with titles denoting higher positions such as executive vice president or senior vice president, with the remaining management team holding the title vice president. The title of assistant vice president or associate vice president is used in large organizations below vice president and there can be a very convoluted list of other types of VPs as seen in
155-608: A pure science background and an advanced degree, whereas a CTO often has a background in engineering or business development. Some academic research organizations, such as the Fox Chase Cancer Center , Dana–Farber Cancer Institute , and the San Diego Supercomputer Center have adopted a similar title of CSO. Typically, their role is to evaluate and set scientific priorities and coordinate the administrative structure that supports scientists. A CSO commonly has
186-707: A scientific or academic background, yet they may or may not be practicing scientists or academics. In the National Health Service , the CSO is the head of profession for the 53,000 healthcare scientists working in the organization and its associated bodies. The CSO is one of six NHS professional officers (including the chief medical officer and the chief nursing officer ) who are employed within NHS England . These roles lead their own professional groups as well as providing expert knowledge about their specific disciplines to
217-451: Is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on the executive branch of the government, university or company. The name comes from the Latin term vice meaning "in place of" and typically serves as pro tempore ( Latin : ’for the time being’) to
248-441: Is destroying universities. "Corporate vice president" is an older term that usually denotes a vice president that is named as a corporate officer by the board of directors. Not all vice presidents in a company in the modern business environment are named as an official corporate officer. Depending on the specific organization, the following may be an example of the hierarchy of the vice presidents. The following list explains where
279-572: The cabinet , while other vice presidents might not have any purpose beyond acting in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. A few vice presidents in the Americas also hold the position of president of the senate ; this is the case, for example, in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay. The vice president sometimes assumes some of the ceremonial duties of
310-642: The chief information officer (CIO) and is primarily concerned with long-term and "big picture" issues (while still having deep technical knowledge of the relevant field). In technology-focused organizations, the CIO and CTO positions can be at the same level, with the CIO focused on the information technology and the CTO focused on the core company and other supporting technologies. Depending on company structure and hierarchy, there may also be positions such as R&D manager, director of R&D and vice president of engineering whom
341-424: The president or CEO of the company and are members of the executive management team. Some corporations that use this term may have individuals with the title of vice president responsible for specific business divisions (e.g., vice president for legal, vice president for sales and marketing, vice president for finance, and vice president for human resources). When there are typically several vice presidents in
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#1732851848520372-411: The 1980s, the role of these research directors changed substantially. Since technology was becoming a fundamental part of the development for most products and services, companies needed an operational executive who could understand the product's technical side and provide advice on ways to improve and develop. This all led to the creation of the position of Chief Technology Officer by large companies in
403-570: The CSO since October 2002 first within the department of health and subsequently NHS England. The role was strengthened in March 2023 with the appointment of a deputy CSO, Dr.Joel. The Public Health Agency of Canada is home to a CSO. As of May 2020, the PHAC CSO was named Pascal Michel. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is home to a Chief Science Operating Officer . Chief technology officer A chief technology officer ( CTO ) (also known as
434-592: The CTO interacts with or oversees. The CTO also needs a working familiarity with regulatory (e.g. U.S. Food and Drug Administration , Environmental Protection Agency , Consumer Product Safety Commission , as applicable) and intellectual property (IP) issues (e.g. patents , trade secrets , license contracts), and an ability to interface with legal counsel to incorporate these considerations into strategic planning and inter-company negotiations. In many older industries (whose existence may predate IT automation) such as manufacturing, shipping or banking, an executive role of
465-497: The CTO would often arise out of the process of automating existing activities; in these cases, any CTO-like role would only emerge if and when efforts would be made to develop truly novel technologies (either for facilitating internal operations or for enhancing products/services being provided), perhaps through " intrapreneuring ". Vice president A vice president or vice-president , also director in British English ,
496-534: The NHS and wider health and care system. The CSO provides professional leadership and expert clinical advice across the health system, as well as working alongside senior clinical leaders within NHS England and the broader commissioning system. The CSO is also responsible for delivering the government's strategy for a modernised healthcare science workforce, Modernising Scientific Careers . Professor Dame Sue Hill has been
527-456: The VP sits in an organization: This comparison is not strictly correct, as director is a legal term, meaning someone registered with the relevant country's company registrar (or simply named in the legal documents, for countries not having company registration) as having managerial control of the company, and having legal responsibility for its operation, whilst a vice president does not. In either case
558-467: The ascent of the IT industry, but has since become prevalent in technology-based industries of all types – including computer-based technologies (such as game developer , e-commerce , and social networking service ) and other/non-computer-focused technology (such as biotech / pharma , defense , and automotive ). In non-technical organizations as a corporate officer position, the CTO typically reports directly to
589-446: The company without the burdens of day-to-day office work. This is where the idea of a CTO focusing on the overarching technology infrastructures originates. At that time, the director of the laboratory was a corporate vice president who did not participate in the company's corporate decisions. Instead, the technical director was the individual responsible for attracting new scientists, to do research, and to develop products . In
620-404: The first vice president can be interchangeable with executive vice president and the remaining vice presidents are ranked in order of their seniority. Sometimes a vice president is also called presidium member , especially when there are more than person holding the post. The primary responsibility of the vice president of a club or organization is to be prepared to assume the powers and duties of
651-479: The late 1980s with the growth of the information technology industry and computer (internet) companies. A CTO "examines the short and long term needs of an organization, and utilizes capital to make investments designed to help the organization reach its objectives... [the CTO] is the highest technology executive position within a company and leads the technology or engineering department". The role became prominent with
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#1732851848520682-457: The members of the organization. When multiple vice presidents are elected, the positions are usually numbered to prevent confusion as to who may preside or succeed to the office of president upon vacancy of that office (for example: first vice president, second vice president, and so on). In some cases vice presidents are given titles due to their specific responsibilities, for example: vice president of operations, finance, etc. In some associations
713-497: The next section. As many of these VPs have minimal employees reporting to them, their necessity has been questioned, with for example Inc. magazine arguing to flatten the corporate hierarchy. Similarly, as universities have adopted a corporate structure there is concern over administrative bloat and over-paying VPs. Benjamin Ginsberg, a political scientist and professor, has claimed the proliferation of VPs and other administrators
744-424: The office of the president in the case of a vacancy in that office. If the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president (or in clubs with multiple vice presidents, the VP that occupies the highest-ranking office), will assume the office of president, with the lower vice presidents to fill in the remaining vice presidencies, leaving the lowest vice presidency to be filled by either election or appointment. If
775-510: The organization's goals, while CIOs work alongside the organization's information technology ("IT") staff members to perform everyday operations. The attributes of the roles a CTO holds vary from one company to another, mainly depending on their organizational structure. After World War II , large corporations established research laboratories at locations separate from their headquarters. The corporation's goals were to hire scientists and offer them facilities to conduct research on behalf of
806-514: The president's election. Most governments with vice presidents have one person in this role at any time, although in some countries there are two or more vice presidents–an extreme case being Iran's 12 vice presidents . If the president is not present, dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president will generally serve as president. In many presidential systems , vice presidents may not wield much day-to-day political power, but are still considered important members of
837-467: The president, such as attending diplomatic functions and events that the actual president may be too busy to attend; the Vice President of the United States , for example, often attends funerals of world leaders on behalf of the president . A vice president, in some cases, may also be appointed by the president as the head of a ministry in the cabinet or to lead certain executive initiatives designated by
868-452: The president. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president . In everyday speech, the abbreviation VP is used. In government , a vice president is a person whose primary responsibility is to act in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. Vice presidents are either elected jointly with the president as their running mate , or more rarely, appointed independently after
899-608: The president. In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems, a vice president may coexist with a prime minister, as is the case in India and Namibia , but the presence of both offices concurrently is rare. In business , "vice president" refers to hierarchical position that ranges from extremely senior positions directly reporting to C-level executives (in non-financial companies), to junior non-management positions with four to 10 years of experience (in financial companies). In non-financial businesses, vice presidents often report directly to
930-489: The responsibilities may be overall to the company, a region (US, EMEA, CEE...), business unit or function such as sales, marketing, IT etc. In financial companies, a "vice president" is usually a seniority rank that denotes higher responsibility, though such may not be leadership. The title does not denote a leadership position within the company, but often a role relatively junior to the executive board. Financial services companies have multiple vice presidents, possibly because
961-444: The title is a form of delayering when an employee can not be moved higher in the organization but still deserves recognition. In most cases, the title merely implies that someone is in a medium-seniority individual contributor role. Larger financial institutions have thousands of employees with the title "vice president". In other organizations ( e.g. , trade unions , societies, clubs) one or multiple vice presidents are elected by