ON PARTNERS RELEASES FORECAST OF TOP EXECUTIVE JOBS FOR 2019

Positions focused on customer experience, digital transformation and ethics among those expected to be in high demand

CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 22, 2019 ─ ON Partners, the results-driven retained executive search firm, today unveiled Top Jobs 2019, its list of executive jobs expected to be in demand in the coming year in the technology, life sciences, supply chain and industrial sectors. The importance of customer experience, ongoing digital transformation efforts, and corporate ethics are among the key factors expected to drive executive hiring in 2019, according to ON Partners consultants nationwide who provided input for the Top Jobs list.

“Companies across a broad range of industry sectors are intently focused on improving the customer experience to better compete, and are continuing a major shift to a digital environment,” noted ON Partners co-founder and managing partner Tim Conti. “This list represents key jobs our consultants see as likely to be on organizations’ priority lists in the coming year.”

ON Partners’ list of Top Executive Jobs for 2019 includes:

Chief Ethics Officer
Perhaps never as important as it is today, this position is responsible for creating and implementing a code of ethics, training programs for employees, and monitoring and complying with government regulations.

Chief Transformation Officer
According to a recent Gartner survey of more than 3000 CIOs, businesses have reached a digital transformation tipping point, with 33% saying they are at the stage where they are scaling their initiatives, up from 17% last year. The associated demand for professionals who can effectively guide organizations through the transformation only continues to grow.

Chief Revenue Officer
While the title may not be sexy, chief revenue officers are currently in huge demand, specifically, CROs who understand inside and field sales, customer success, account management strategy and closed-loop marketing. In a growth market, everyone wants and needs growth-oriented CROs. Those with true global experience are rare and in even higher demand.

INDUSTRIAL & MANUFACTURING

Director of IoT Investment
IoT continues to transform surfaces into sensors for collecting data and providing manufacturers with real-time insights. Manufacturers can slice and dice data for a comprehensive understanding of their business, enabling them to improve production, optimize operations and address issues before they become problems.

Director of Virtual and Augmented Reality
Industrial manufacturers will continue to leverage VR and AR in their daily operations, especially in field-service management, where service technicians can use these technologies for guided repair in remote environments in certain countries or for particular products.

LIFE SCIENCES/HEALTHCARE

Vice President, Computational Biomedicine
By the end of this century, computer-based modeling and simulation – computational biomedicine – will be key to how clinical decisions are made. As technologies come into play that can detect cancer much earlier than ever with high accuracy and low cost, there will be a growing need for expertise in this area.

Vice President, Delivery Optimization
As health care providers continue to look for ways to boost profitability, they will focus on creating efficiency rather than increasing prices. Technology and data can improve the cost and outcomes of care, making both more efficient.

Vice President, Virtual Care
According to Gartner, by 2023 emergency room visits will be reduced by 20 million due to enrollment of chronically ill patients in AI-enhanced virtual care. AI and monitoring devices deployed with patients who have chronic conditions can instantly detect when something is wrong and help with preventative and reactive care.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Chief Value Officer (formerly Chief Procurement Officer)
The role of the chief procurement officer is evolving to meet the needs of modern corporations. Broadly, the chief value officer is a supply chain and strategic sourcing role aimed at enhancing the value of the enterprise, vs. the old role of simply lowering costs. For example, the procurement department can utilize business data on suppliers to enhance supply chain decisions, such as supplier evaluation and recommendations of the best business partners. Also, effective cooperation can help assess risks in the supply chain based on global industrial and political trends as a way to prevent or mitigate danger of stock shortages.

Meanwhile, collaboration in the supply chain can streamline internal processes and reduce overutilization of resources spent on administrative and other time-consuming tasks. It also can help generate referrals from satisfied business partners and bring more business. While adoption of the title is not yet widespread, it is beginning to take hold in forward-thinking organizations.

Vice President, Digital Supply Chain
The digital supply chain holds the promise of real-time data to sense demand, drive innovation, reduce cost and deliver the customer the right product at the right time and price. The use of the internet, Big Data, analytics and other technologies allows companies to have end-to-end visibility and capability across their supply chain. 3D printing accelerates innovation and new product development greatly, and innovations in drones and driverless vehicles are transforming delivery. An executive in this position must understand how these new and emerging technologies will enable the company to engage with new customers, cut costs and transform how it predicts customer demand and plans, manufactures and delivers to customers around the world.

Vice President, Risk Management
Emerging in response to the Administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, this role is responsible for managing potential fallout from the action, which could have significant impact on U.S. companies. Tariffs can disrupt complex international supply networks, jeopardizing the value proposition for local businesses. Regardless of business size, the risk manager needs to be constantly evaluating its supply chain, tracking sources of imports and layering in risks, and conducting audits to understand customs valuation and classification of the goods being imported and/or exported, what is being reported to customs, and the liability they are taking on. Diversifying by minimizing exposure to the U.S. and analyzing growth initiatives at all levels are key elements of the risk management position.

Vice President, Customer Experience
The days when retailers wooed shoppers to brick-and-mortar stores with bright colors, beautiful décor and personalized service are mostly gone. Nearly every company today is an ecommerce company, and the overall experience of a product becomes the cornerstone of success. Whether selling through Amazon or direct through a website, the customer experience has shifted from “in store” to “at your door.” As a result, companies are deeply focused on the last mile of the supply chain and providing customers with a perfect product that is beautifully packaged and arrives on time and in full.

In addition, as the software-as-a-service sector continues its rapid growth and as other tech sectors increasingly turn to recurring/subscription revenue models, retaining existing customers and maximizing their lifetime value has taken on greater importance. This is ultimately the purpose of customer success and more and more companies continue to add this capability to their organizations as well as upgrade its status in the corporate hierarchy.

TECHNOLOGY

Vice President of Robotics
This position, which involves overseeing engineers in the development and production of automated equipment, and those related to M2M, manufacturing operations, AI and automation remain popular and relevant. According to Fast Company, “Machine-learning driven automation will lead to a wide range of new business opportunities, including many companies focused on single-purpose implementations of AI and automation. As well, automation will provide a massive multiplier effect by being able to do the small tasks that thousands of people could do–like look for patterns in images.”

Vice President, Cryptocurrency
While Bitcoin is the most visible of cryptocurrencies, there are plenty of others, and more to come. Their ability to enable distributed value storage without the need for central authority is valuable at a time when people have lost faith in institutions and seek more control over money without governmental intrusion. As cryptocurrencies continue to gain popularity, those with expertise in the technology will be in demand.

Vice President, Omnichannel
The physical and digital worlds are converging in sectors other than retail, with companies creating pop-up stores or offline businesses creating digital portals, for example. There is increasing demand for those with expertise in integrating and managing the two areas.

Vice President, Building Analytics
As sensors in buildings provide increasing amounts of data, they will provide analytics that could reduce costs, create efficiencies and improve the experience of those in the building. This represents a huge capital opportunity, and those who understand how to analyze and take advantage of this vast amount of data will be in demand.

About ON Partners
ON Partners is more than just headhunters. The firm has assembled the best recruiters in the industry for one unified purpose: to recruit top talent that delivers results for our clients.

With a primary focus on the technology, life sciences, industrial, and energy/clean tech industries, ON Partners (ON) identifies and recruits the best C-Suite, Board and senior executive talent for both public and private companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms.

With office locations across the country, ON Partners has ready access to key executives nationwide, empowering its consultants to discover and recruit the best talent available anywhere. www.onpartners.com

CONTACT:
Jay Roberts, Roberts Buchanan Associates
212.924.2582 | jay@robertsbuchanan.com