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15 - The SBU President – Perhaps the best job for the CEO-in-training
- Edited by Preston Bottger
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- Book:
- Leading in the Top Team
- Published online:
- 19 August 2009
- Print publication:
- 01 May 2008, pp 308-319
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
No discussion of the top leadership team of a global company would be complete without a mention of the role of the strategic business unit (SBU) president. Much like the State of California in the United States has the world's tenth largest economy, when compared to country economies, many global companies have business units whose turnover would put them well into Fortune's Global 500 largest companies
In this chapter, the authors explain how the SBU president's role works within a global organization's top leadership team. They explore the role of the SBU president, as distinct from other CXOs, and how this position has unique leadership challenges that differ from company to company.
The role of the strategic business unit president
Working for three years as the head of our company's largest business unit was the best training I could imagine for the challenges I faced when I became the company's CEO. As the SBU President I was responsible to my boss [the CEO] for the P&L of the business unit, but each month I would receive this huge allocation from ‘corporate’ for all of the central ‘services’. That was one of the first things I changed upon becoming CEO, I took responsibility for corporate overhead into the CEO's office and made sure the SBU Presidents focused only on their business units and what they could directly control. It saved a lot of time and discussion. I of course delegated much of the corporate overhead responsibility to the other CXOs, they could no longer just allocate their costs around the businesses, but rather they had to answer to me and our CFO.
(CEO and former SBU president of a large global manufacturing company)
6 - The Chief Sales Officer – Sell, sell, sell!
- Edited by Preston Bottger
-
- Book:
- Leading in the Top Team
- Published online:
- 19 August 2009
- Print publication:
- 01 May 2008, pp 98-112
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
The chief sales officer (CSO) is part of the CXO round table when sales and sales growth are of such importance to the company that the executive function of marketing is divided into CMO and CSO. The CSO's primary focus is top-line growth, at any cost. However, the CSO cannot ignore strategy and profitability, two key tension points between sales and marketing. Having a CSO is sometimes a short-term decision when sales growth is a new key item on the CEO's agenda. Often, market share growth on a global scale and head-to-head competition with key competitors is to be expected and the CSO's job is to keep sales growth at the top of the corporate agenda.
In this chapter, the authors explain how the CSO's role is distinct from that of the CMO and focus on how the CSO works within a global organization's top leadership team. They explore the CSO role in different types of companies, B2B vs B2C and the challenges the CSO faces working alongside colleagues in the CXO team.
The role of the chief sales officer
As the executive vice president of sales, I am responsible for worldwide sales of products in over a dozen divisions. We have a diverse set of products, mainly for end consumers, but we sell mainly to doctors, hospitals and governments, and recently we have been losing market share to some of our key competitors in both big-pharma and the generics. Motivating our sales staff of over 1,000 employees and communicating a single vision from the headquarters is one of the key challenges I face. […]