Communicators Rocket to C-suite With Bigger Responsibilities, Paychecks

Communications leaders are playing a larger role in the C-suite, The Wall Street Journal reports. The shift comes as CEOs, concerned that even minor missteps can trigger a corporate crisis, increasingly turn to communications executives for strategic counsel.

As investor communications, advertising, media relations, social media and AI-generated responses increasingly converge, corporate leaders are scrambling to control the company narrative.

Companies including Gap, Peloton and State Farm have all recently hired their first chief communications officers. The newly created positions handle PR responsibilities that previously belonged to executives with titles such as vice president or head of communications. 

With audiences politically polarized, “when you send out a message, you’ve really got to think about not only, ‘How can this be interpreted?’ but also, ‘How can this be misinterpreted?’” said Travis Parman, Goodyear’s CCO and a PRSA member. 

“Everything is under a microscope, and the cost of getting things wrong is very, very high,” said Sona Iliffe-Moon, CCO at Yahoo.

Today’s communications leaders are increasingly focused on how their organizations are mentioned favorably in consumer conversations with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude, often by editing company websites and press releases with those large language models in mind. 

“It’s really changed from CCOs wanting to have a seat at the table, to having it, and now being overwhelmed,” said Denise Dahlhoff, head of marketing and communications at The Conference Board.

Salaries for chief communications officers have risen to a median base range of $400,000–$450,000, up 12%–14% from two years earlier, according to recruiter Korn Ferry.