Chief Revenue Officer jobs propel company revenues forward
At times, sweet dreams come to fruition for those seeking Chief Revenue Officer jobs, or CRO jobs.
Just ask Steve Voskuil of The Hershey Company, who worked in the biomedical space for two decades before joining the legendary confection producer valued at nearly $50 billion on $10 billion each year in sales. Not only is Mr. Voskuil responsible for financial reporting and accounting compliance for the company, but also leads revenue strategy and forecasting across a broad spectrum of snack products, which has been sensitive to supply chain and inflationary pressures of the past few years.
You can tell Mr. Voskuil loves his work. During a recent earnings call, he said The Hershey Company watches consumer behavior “very closely,” citing strong growth in the “salty side” of the company’s portfolio, including Skinny Pop popcorn snacks, Pirate Booty and the recent acquisition Dot’s Pretzels. “Jolly Ranchers, particularly the gummy space,” also is performing well, he said.
Yes, you can have your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and eat it, too, especially when exploring CRO positions or Chief Revenue Officer jobs. Healthcare CRO jobs and remote CRO positions, especially, are in high demand. Contact your Forbes.jobs recruiter and read on to learn what a Chief Revenue Officer does and how to land a CRO opportunity.
What is a Chief Revenue Officer and what does a CRO job entail?
Sometimes confused with a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Revenue Officer position often combines accounting and IRS regulation acumen with strong sales, marketing and business execution skills. A company’s CRO is responsible for revenue generation functions including new business development and growth, along with the retention of existing customers. The CRO is the architect of revenue strategy and execution of a company, working in concert with the CEO, COO, CFO (if there is a separate position), CHRO, CTO and others at the highest executive level.
Chief Revenue Officers may be associated with start-up or younger companies that require the establishment of a budget or an annal budget, fiscal forecasting, rapid sales acceleration, sales accounting and reporting to both regulators and boards of directors in a high-energy, growth-centered environment. CROs identify new business opportunities, new customer segments and collaboratively work to align business functions with these opportunities, crossing over into information technology, operations, research and development, and other areas, in addition to a daily presence with the sales and marketing teams.
As a senior member of the executive team, the CRO typically has decades of experience in the industry or sector, demonstrated success growing sales and sales teams, and developing a culture of success and growth. CROs have moved up the sales ranks during the course of their careers, and may have been a Vice President of Sales before breaking through to the C-Suite. Accounting experience germane to the sector is a significant plus, but may be shared with a dedicated CFO.
Most Chief Revenue Officer jobs require a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an MBA preferred, plus 10-15 years of applicable experience in sales and marketing, leading sales teams, growing revenues, and/or developing new products or markets depending on the industry. Acquisitions are an important strategy for growth so experience in the M&A space helps make your case.
What do Chief Revenue Officer jobs pay and are CRO positions in demand?
Especially post-pandemic, companies are ramping up their sales infrastructure and Chief Revenue Officer positions remain in high demand as CEOs explore new revenue opportunities and to shore up existing streams, according to a new report from the Revenue Enablement Institute, a New York-based marketing think tank. Employment data firm Zippia reports that are about 3,200 CROs (primarily in the United States) with an unemployment rate of less than 2 percent.
The Chief Revenue Officer is often are one of highest paid people at a company with a base salary that averages more than $235,000 in the United States, which makes sense since the weight of the company’s fiscal performance rests on their shoulders, along with the CEO. But with all that risk, comes reward, and bonus pay commensurate with performance. Bonuses and stock options based on performance can sometimes equal or surpass base pay many times over. Nationwide on average total compensation for CROs approaches $450,000.
So, yes, sales professionals, your career progression leads to Chief Revenue Officer jobs and CRO positions. You ready to rise to another level? Contact a Forbes.jobs career coach or executive recruiter to learn more, and close that sweet deal.
