The Emergence of the Chief Networking Officer

Over the past few years there has been a great deal of interest and development in social and professional networking. With the popularity of social and professional networking technology tools, there is an increasing need to be on top of your networked contacts. This is to the point that some companies have started to see the need to add a new job function: social and professional network management. While there doesn't seem to be a big movement yet to embrace this job function, there are lots out there who are talking about the "CNO" - Chief Networking Officer.

Wikipedia defines this new position: “The Chief Networking Officer (CNO) is a new corporate executive office in the business world; it refers to a person who manages the social capital of a company. The CNO connects people and businesses within the company, with other companies, as well as with consumers, hence facilitating know-how transfer and information flow, and allowing for profits to grow.”

The company CNO Parters has been on the cutting edge of this emerging need. Check out their website and the tools they have available for developing a professional networking interest within your company. They base much of their networking recommendations on the Meta Relationship Networking Project (MRN), which will “integrate everything a networker needs into a single platform” using cell phones and other internet-based devices.

I presented this question to my LinkedIn network: “In the next 2-5 years, do you think there will be a growing need for companies to have someone in house to grow, manage, and leverage social and professional networks for the executives?”

I received responses all across the board on this inquiry. Below are some of the responses given.

Bill Champitto, Principal and Executive Producer with Leader Networks responds:
“They already are in a couple of forms, although unless the company's primary business is publishing or events I'm not sure we'll see a CNO role. As earlier posts suggest, the community/network is a multifaceted role spanning many roles. As a consulting organization focusing on online business communities, we've seen a lot of models including the development of specific business units or P&L's, which are obviously run at an executive level. And more frequently we are seeing companies hire community roles such as executive producers and moderators, as well as deploying specific support functions for the underlying eMedia, technology, sales and customer support needs. …but again have yet to see a CNO.”

Paul Moriarty, IT Executive with Trend Micro writes:
“I'd have to say no. The important thing about a network is that it's personal. How many personal relationships do you have with a company? People in a company, yes, but the company itself?”

Jessica Margolin, a self employed consultant and analyst (Margolin Consulting) says:
“I believe there will be a need for an effort to manage the COMPANY'S networks. In particular, the ability to quantify and manage the social / relationship / brand assets of a company is an emerging field, and one that's related to corporate social responsibility, or CRO (the corporate responsibility officer), which is an emerging title. What you're describing is an elite executive assistant (which may not be a bad role, either). Traditionally C-levels do manage their own network, and LinkedIn is just a tool to make that easier. Otoh [on the other hand], it makes it "outsourceable" too.”


So you can see that there are some who think this is coming and others who think it is a function that will remain in the hands of the individual. Some people also believe that this should be the responsibility of existing Human Resources and/or Marketing departments within a company.

Regardless, one cannot ignore the fact that it is vitally important to forge and cultivate relationships within your industry and related industries. The concept of the CNO I believe is still in its infancy, but I think in the next 2-5 years you will start seeing more and more companies hiring individuals who specialize in this sort of professional interconnectivity.

I welcome your comments and thoughts on this matter as well!

Related resources:
SocialTwister article: Chief Networking Officer – Isn’t That What I Do?
Vowe.net article: What is a “Chief Networking Officer?”
Some Assembly Required blog
The National Networker article: Big Business Networking, Part III: Rise of the CNO?

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