The New Era of the CCO: The Essential Role of Communication in a Volatile World

The role of the chief communication officer (CCO) in today's enterprise has dramatically changed over the past 30 years. Once focused on getting news out to media outlets, today's CCO has become an integral part of any enterprise-company, corporation, governmental, and nongovernmental entity. Today's CCO is responsible for internal and external communication, with creating and implementing communication strategies that help mold enterprise mission, vision, value, and character, and with building enterprise reputation through stakeholder engagement. As a part of the "C-Suite," the CCO must understand not only the psychology and sociology of the business, but also the role that she has in informing the C-Suite and the chief executive officer what internal and external stakeholders are thinking and how this may affect corporate image in terms of credibility, confidence, trust, relationship, and reputation. In short, the new CCO must understand both the science and the art of communication and apply that knowledge to advancing her enterprise's goals and objectives through a faster and ever-larger-reaching set of media.

Roger Bolton is president of the Arthur W. Page Society, a former CCO at Aetna Inc., and U.S. Department of the Treasury, and a former Chair of the Arthur W. Page Society.

Don W. Stacks is professor emeritus, department of strategic communication, school of communication, University of Miami.

Eliot Mizrachi is vice president, communications and thought leadership, Arthur W. Page Society.