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When two heads are better than one: the role of COO R&D

The jobs of R&D presidents are hard, and getting harder by the day. To guide their labs toward the most promising avenues of research they have to keep up with the rapid pace of scientific progress. At the same time, as the chief executives of complex, technology-driven (and frequently international) organisations, they are involved in many non-scientific operational and organisational issues.

R&D presidents – and frequently the leaders of discovery, pre-clinical, and development – wear two hats. They’re Chief Science Officers (CSO) and Chief Operating Officers (COO).

This article discusses if it is time to create a new role - the COO of R&D.