CTPartners (NYSE MKT:CTP), a leading global executive search firm, today released its 20th annual Hot Jobs forecast of new and emerging executive roles for 2015. The top factors influencing these leadership positions are driven in particular by the ongoing dominance of big data in business, the technological advances in security and risk and the increased rigor demanded globally for corporate governance.

According to CTPartners CEO Brian Sullivan: “We are seeing a proliferation of executive-level roles borne out of the global influence of big data. Businesses are looking for leaders who can not only understand the massive amounts of information available to them but also identify the threats and opportunities that come as a result of this evolving landscape. As such, analytical roles such as head of personalization and head of people analytics, alongside risk and cybersecurity positions, are the new ‘in-demand’ roles that will be key to maintaining a company’s competitive advantage in 2015.

“Overall, the market remains highly competitive for top talent right now, with nearly three-quarters of our partners describing today’s environment as ‘fierce,’” Mr. Sullivan added. “The war for talent is definitely going to continue throughout 2015. In the U.S. alone, a record number of IPOs this year means that newly-public companies will need to develop a range of management and leadership positions to grow and compete successfully.”

Below is a list of the predicted ‘hot jobs’ for 2015 according to CTPartners:

DIGITAL & MARKETING

  • Chief Marketing Officer: Along with the traditional skillset, today’s CMO must embrace data analytics to work effectively and measure performance.
  • Digital Marketing / Chief Creative Officer: The marketing executive is leading the way as companies continue their shift from traditional to online advertising platforms that allow closer tracking of return on investment.
  • Chief Digital Officer: Chief Digital Officers are being called upon to develop effective strategies for mobile and digital platforms.

RETAIL INDUSTRY

  • Analytics Practice Leader: A key competitive priority is being able to capture and synthesize massive amounts of data now available from customer interactions, supply chain feedback and other sources.
  • Chief Growth Officer: Includes initiatives aimed at identifying growth opportunities across digital media and technology as well as borrowing ideas from the startup world.
  • Head of Personalization: Must be an expert at integrating the knowledge gained from customer behavior analytics into highly-targeted engagement and marketing strategies.

CYBER SECURITY & RISK

  • Chief Information Security Officer: Best-in-class cyber security leaders possess a defense sector or federal government background.
  • Digital Risk Officer: Businesses in all industries will turn to DROs to meet the ever-growing need for consistent, organization-wide responses to digital business risk.
  • Conduct Risk Officer: A subset of operational risk, conduct risk incorporates treatment of customers, remuneration of staff and a firm’s response to conflicts of interest.

LIFE SCIENCES & HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

  • Head of Customer Engagement: Pharmaceutical and other healthcare organizations are taking a digital approach to engaging with and responding to an increasingly influential customer bases of patients and payers.
  • Chief Patient Officer: Patient empowerment will be a defining theme, particularly as the opportunities inherent in the convergence of healthcare and technology materialize.
  • Head of Population Heath Management: Along with disease management expertise, this role will possess a sophisticated understanding of the data and analytic tools available as well as business priorities across the spectrum of healthcare providers and payers.
  • Chief Innovation Officer: This emerging life sciences sector role encompasses both product development and strategic direction responsibilities.

HUMAN RESOURCES

  • Chief Human Resources Officer: CEOs are looking for much more out of their HR leader and from a global perspective. The CHRO of today and tomorrow will act as a true consigliere, counselor and reliable sounding-board to the CEO.
  • Head of People Analytics: With the richness of data and analytic tools at hand to CEOs, they want deeper and more meaningful information about human capital, their most valuable asset.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

  • Private Equity CFO: With increasingly robust private equity activity underway on a global basis, this financial leader has the capacity to move quickly when making decisions.

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About CTPartners

CTPartners is a leading performance-driven executive search firm serving clients across the globe. Committed to a philosophy of partnering with its clients, CTPartners offers a proven record in C-Suite, senior executive, and board searches, as well as expertise serving private equity and venture capital firms.

With origins dating back to 1980, CTPartners serves clients with a global organization of more than 400 professionals and employees, offering expertise in board advisory services and executive recruiting services in the financial services, life sciences, industrial, professional services, retail and consumer, and technology, media and telecom industries. Headquartered in New York, CTPartners has 30 offices in 18 countries.