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Interim CDO Chief Digital Officer: Senior Digital Business Leadership In Seat
An interim CDO chief digital officer takes full-seat ownership of the digital business for a defined window. That covers digital strategy, eCommerce and omnichannel, customer experience, and the channels that drive online growth. An interim CDO chief digital officer steps in for organizations navigating a transition.
Talk to an Interim CDO
An interim CDO chief digital officer takes full-seat ownership of the digital business for a defined window
Why teams hire a Chameleon interim CDO
In seat from day one
When a digital leader leaves or a digital initiative cannot stall, our operators step into the seat immediately. Senior leaders who own the digital strategy, the customer experience, and the channels on day one, with no ramp.
The digital business, not just a website
Operators who own the digital P&L: the customer journey, eCommerce and omnichannel, acquisition and retention, and the experience across web and mobile. They run digital as a growth engine, not a project.
A clean handoff to the permanent hire
Interim CDOs document the digital strategy, the channel mix, the experience roadmap, and the team structure, then hand a working digital business to the incoming leader rather than a stalled roadmap.
What an interim CDO owns
An interim Chief Digital Officer is a senior digital-business leader engaged full-time for a defined window, usually 3 to 9 months. They own how a company grows through digital. That means digital strategy and the digital P&L. It also means eCommerce and omnichannel, the web and mobile customer experience, the digital channels, and the team that delivers it.
Digital strategy and the digital P&L
The plan and the numbers cover where digital growth comes from and how the channels fit together. The roadmap ties to acquisition, conversion, retention, and revenue rather than vanity metrics.
Customer experience across web and mobile
The experience the customer actually has: a coherent journey across web, mobile, and commerce, designed to convert and retain, and continuously improved on evidence.
eCommerce, omnichannel, and channels
The revenue engine is the eCommerce platform and the omnichannel model. The marketing and sales channels feed it, and the data connects them into one view of the customer.
Digital team and delivery
The people side: leading the digital, eCommerce, and experience teams, aligning them with marketing and technology, and holding the standard so the digital business keeps shipping.
How an interim CDO engagement runs
Companies hire an interim Chief Digital Officer when they need senior digital leadership in seat for a defined window: a departure, a leave, a reorganization, a replatform, or a digital push that cannot wait for a permanent hire. The operator runs the digital business full-time and hands it off cleanly.
Interim, fractional, or full-time
Interim is a full-seat engagement for a defined window, usually 3 to 9 months, with the operator stepping in as the in-seat digital leader, most often while a company hires. Fractional is ongoing and part-time, 1 to 3 days per week, for senior digital judgment without a full-time hire. A permanent CDO makes sense once the seat is steady-state full-time.
The first two weeks
An interim CDO moves fast. They do a rapid read of the digital P&L, the customer journey, the eCommerce and channel performance, the experience, and the team. Then they set a stabilization plan for the window. The work keeps moving immediately, with the permanent-hire handoff scoped from the start.
How We Compare
| Feature | Chameleon Collective | Digital agency | Full-time CDO hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed into the seat | Days, not months | Onboarding ramp per scope | 3 to 6 month search plus ramp |
| Full-seat coverage for the window | Yes, owns the digital business | No, scoped to a project | Yes, once hired |
| Owns the digital P&L | Strategy through revenue | Often scoped to deliverables | Yes, once ramped |
| Platform-agnostic | Picks the stack that fits the business | Builds on the stack they sell | Hire-dependent |
Frequently Asked Questions
They are a senior digital-business leader, in seat for a defined window. They own digital strategy and the digital P&L, eCommerce and omnichannel, and the web and mobile customer experience. They also own the digital channels and the team that turns digital into growth.
A Chief Digital Officer owns the customer-facing digital business: experience, channels, eCommerce, and the digital P&L. A Chief Technology Officer owns the underlying technology: architecture, engineering, infrastructure, and security. They are complementary, and our operators are clear on which mandate they hold.
Interim is full-seat coverage for a defined window, most often while you hire. Fractional is ongoing and part-time, for senior digital judgment without a full-time hire. A permanent CDO makes sense once the seat is steady-state full-time. We help you size which fits.
Our roster includes operators who have held CDO, Chief eCommerce Officer, and digital-transformation roles, owning the digital P&L and the customer experience for consumer, retail, and B2B brands. They are senior the day they start.
A clean handoff. The interim CDO documents the digital strategy, the channel mix, the experience roadmap, and the team, and hands a working digital business to the permanent hire, rather than leaving a stalled roadmap.
Related Services
Need a permanent Chief Digital Officer or VP of Digital?
Some companies run an interim Chief Digital Officer for a window, then convert to a permanent hire. Our Recruit practice runs retained executive search for digital and eCommerce leaders, with a short list in 14 to 21 days and a 12-month replacement guarantee.
Get In Touch
Get a senior CDO in seat, fast
Tell us what opened the gap: a departing digital leader, an eCommerce or experience initiative that cannot pause, or a transition that needs coverage. We will route to the operator who can step in and run it.
