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Bring On the CTO: Why Having a Chief Transformation Officer Makes Sense in a Post-COVID World
By Ricardo Vargas Executive Director, Brightline Initiative, PMI
The case for having a Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) has been building for years. Now, as companies undertake the difficult task of rebuilding in the wake of COVID-19, the CTO role is more important than ever.
Ricardo Vargas Executive Director _ Brightline Initiative, PMI
“Life will never be the same after COVID-19.”
You hear that a lot these days. But for many organizations, life will indeed be different in a post-COVID world. Whether they’re restructuring their supply chains, reframing their go-to-market strategies or reconsidering their office space needs, organizations rebuilding in the wake of COVID-19 will need to undergo significant transformation.
To aid in these efforts, it becomes relevant to think about formalizing the role of the Chief Transformation Officer.
The role of Chief Transformation Officer, or CTO, is tailor made for times like these. A CTO can take top management’s transformation vision and make sure it’s properly disseminated throughout the organization.
He or she can translate that vision into concrete goals. Even more important, the CTO can devise and deliver the master plan for achieving these goals—overseeing the multitude of projects that will be needed to turn the organization’s transformation strategies into reality in the post-COVID world.
A Constant State of Transformation
Even before the onset of COVID-19, however, the argument for formalizing the CTO role had been building. That’s because many organizations are already dealing with near constant transformations due to disruptive societal and technology changes. These include growing urbanization, climate change, massive demographic shifts and the revolution caused by advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and 5G.
There’s also the reality that transformations are costly, time-consuming and difficult. They tax the capabilities of even the most agile organizations. In fact, Forbes estimates that 70 percent of large-scale transformations fail to achieve their goals, resulting in a loss of approximately $900 billion in 2018 alone.
Transformations fail for a variety of reasons. Executives we spoke to as part of a 2020 Brightline study, titled Mastering Strategy Implementation in Transformative Times , cited such challenges as limited resources, insufficient technology, skill gaps among internal talent and a lack of processes for guiding strategy.
This same research—among 1,000+ C-level executives from around the world—also provides supporting evidence for the CTO role. Indeed, one of the key variables contributing to the success of a strategic transformation is strong leadership. Brightline’s years of experience in researching strategic implementation suggests that naming a CTO may be the best way of providing that leadership.
Using Standardized Processes
The CTO can serve as a catalyst for formalizing the processes used in transformation initiatives. That’s important because one of the other key variables behind a successful transformation is implementing and adhering to such standardized processes.
The CTO can bring the discipline needed to do so—helping organizations be more adaptable and allowing them to take full advantage of the technology and frameworks they already have.
Finally, having a CTO leads to greater accountability. Investing one person with the responsibility for overseeing a transformation eliminates any potential leadership gaps. It ensures that there will always be one person—the CTO—whose sole priority is the success of the transformation initiative.
Sometimes a black swan event can disrupt a trend that has been gaining momentum. In the case of the CTO role, however, the COVID-19 pandemic should accelerate that momentum. In the post-COVID world, we need to bring on more CTOs to manage the arduous task of re-building our organizations, our economies and our society.
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced the postponement of its maiden annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes to January 25, 2026.
NIPR
The event, earlier scheduled for December 7, 2025, was deferred to accommodate stakeholders whose observance of Christmas festivities had commenced earlier than expected.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Israel Opayemi, urged stakeholders to note the new date and prepare to participate in the ceremony.
He said the awards would motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars, while enhancing Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the public relations ecosystem and strengthening brand equity for all stakeholders.
Opayemi reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class award administration and ceremony, describing the PRICE Awards as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors.
The development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when the NIPR President and Chairman, Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, inaugurated a 12-man committee to organise the maiden edition. The inauguration followed the Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team tasked with establishing the awards.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion, a move analysts say will reshape the global entertainment industry.
Netflix
The deal, which includes Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Games, was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix shares for each WBD share.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the acquisition as “a defining moment” for the streaming giant, noting that the company intends to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations while expanding its production capacity.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies with Netflix’s culture-defining titles, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.
The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, following the planned spin-off of WBD’s TV networks division, Discovery Global, in 2026. Netflix projects annual cost savings of $2–3 billion by the third year after completion and expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by year two.
Industry groups, including the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United, have raised concerns about the impact on movie theaters, while regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal over antitrust issues. Netflix has pledged to continue supporting theatrical releases, with Warner Bros.’ cinema commitments running through 2029.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hailed the agreement, saying it “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love.”
Observers note that the acquisition comes 15 years after former Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes dismissed Netflix as “the Albanian army,” underscoring the dramatic shift in the entertainment landscape.
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
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