Every growing business eventually hits the same wall. The tools that once made life easier start to overlap, teams spend hours moving data from one platform to another, and customer expectations keep climbing faster than your systems can handle.
According to McKinsey, employees spend nearly 30% of their time on repetitive work that could be automated; yet, only a fraction of companies have a clear strategy for addressing this issue. The result? Slower growth, frustrated teams, and processes that can’t keep up with demand.
That’s why we’re seeing more companies create a new kind of leadership role, i.e., the Chief Automation Officer (CAO).
In this blog post, we’ll break down why automation leadership has become so critical, what a Chief Automation Officer really does, and how you can access that level of expertise with a Fractional Chief Automation Officer (FCAO) if you’re not ready to bring one on full-time.
What is a Chief Automation Officer (CAO)?
The Chief Automation Officer is the C-level executive responsible for ensuring that a firm’s automation strategy is effective in practice. It is a senior automation leader focused on making the technology part of a business function better every day and ensuring the new technology solves problems.
As automation and AI have increased, lots of companies have created this role to help add some process and direction to automating work processes.
In many situations, the CAO also creates an internal program or CoE – Center of Excellence focused on automating the work of teams, mostly around quality assurance and sharing what worked across the company.
Responsibilities of a Chief Automation Officer
While the traditional emphasis of operations leaders is on improving the process, the Chief Automation Officer is now asking:
“Where are we putting in effort that is being wasted, and how can we eliminate the wasted effort so people can do meaningful work?”
Here are a few things in the scope of responsibility of the CAO:
- Mapping, managing, and improving workflows for marketing, sales, operations, and support teams.
- Helping identify repetitive, prone-to-error tasks that can be automated
- Verifying that system integration and data sources are integrated appropriately
- Leading automation across platforms
- Supporting a culture of continuous improvement and digital enablement
The Chief Automation Officer can be conceptualized as the bridge between strategy, digging deep into technology considerations, and stakeholder implications. The CAO’s role is not to install automation tools; it is to reimagine the organization to do more with less friction.
According to Gartner, 80% of EMEA CEOs are increasing their investment in digital to accelerate growth, and at the same time, most are admitting their automation could benefit from someone owning and leading the change to bring disconnected tools a coordinated, efficient structure.
That is the gap to fill: someone responsible in your organization to execute the automation of work that the organization has been doing all along without coordination.
Why Growing Businesses Are Adding CAO Leadership
Here is the top reason why companies are hiring CAOs to the automation leadership team:
1. Increasing Complexity Across Tools and Teams
Businesses are now using an average of over 130 SaaS applications to automate their daily activities. The more tools you take on, the higher the chance of inefficiencies, data silos, and manual work. A CAO can provide strategic oversight across all systems to streamline all redundancy.
2. Customer Expectations Have Increased Exponentially
Consumers expect quick responses, personalization, and seamless service. Your business can only do this by automating key aspects of the customer journey, from lead capture to after-sales support.
3. AI & Automation Technology Has Become More Accessible
Low-code and no-code platforms (HubSpot, Zapier, Make, and n8n, for example) have made it easier for companies to automate without extensive engineering availability. This democratizing effect of automation allows even small and mid-sized companies to build powerful workflows, but someone still needs to lead, govern, and optimize them.
4. Transformation of Data-Driven Decision Making
Modern businesses can no longer afford to use gut feeling. Automation not only increases the speed of tasks but also pulls in the data that leaders need to make improved, quicker decisions.
In summary, the Chief Automation Officer exists because AI and automation have outgrown the responsibility of IT. It sits within the core business strategy.
Why Most Companies Aren’t Ready to Hire a Full-Time CAO
Let us be honest – a CAO is a strategic leadership position, and it is not a small purchase.
For most companies, the typical salary for a Chief Automation Officer ranges from $93,000 to $171,500 per year, exclusive of benefits or team support. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a CAO is $59.81 an hour or $124,409 per year. Many scaling companies simply are not prepared for that full-time option yet.
You may be in one of these stages of the growth process:
- Still deciding what processes to automate
- Dealing with multiple tools that are not fully integrated
- Creating bottlenecks in the scaling process
- Lacking technical expertise in-house to build workflows
- Ready to automate but confused on where to start building an automation strategy
What you need now is automation ownership, someone to help accelerate your outputs, but not necessarily a C-Suite hire. This is where the fractional automation leadership model comes into play.
What is a Fractional Automation Officer?
A Fractional Automation Officer (FAO) is an outsourced C-level executive who specializes in automation leadership for a company.
The difference between a full-time CAO and a fractional CAO is that a fractional CAO operates in a part-time and flexible environment.
The FAO is responsible for developing and executing an integrated and cohesive automation strategy that meets the organization’s needs.
Now, how does it work? Suppose you partner with a Fractional CAO provider like Automation Strategy Group, who acts as your Fractional Automation Officer, supported by a full team of automation specialists, CRM consultants, and marketing technologists.
This model gives you both strategic direction and hands-on implementation without adding a six-figure executive to your payroll.
What You Get from a Fractional Automation Officer:
- A roadmap for automation that is designed specifically for your company
- Workflow audits and process mapping
- CRM and marketing platform optimization (HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Eloqua)
- Integrations between your various tools (Slack, Salesforce, N8N, Make, etc)
- Low-code and no-code automation builds
- Ongoing review and optimization
In layman’s terms: you’re not simply getting advice. You’re getting a team to build, test, and maintain the systems for you – so your company can grow faster and operate more efficiently.
Full-Time CAO vs Fractional CAO: Which One to Choose?
In the table below, here is a detailed comparison between a full-time CAO and a Fractional CAO:
| Aspect | Full-Time CAO | Fractional CAO (Automation Strategy Group) |
| Cost Structure | Requires a six-figure salary (often $93 to $ 171K annually) plus benefits and equity. | Monthly retainer model with clear, predictable cost and no long-term executive compensation. |
| Team & Expertise | One person covering both strategy and execution, risk of overwhelm. | A specialist strategist supported by a full execution team for deeper expertise and execution capacity. |
| Time to Impact | Slower ramp-up time, which may take many months to show results. | Fast wins and can deliver meaningful improvements within the first 60-90 days. |
| Process/Maturity Requirement | Works best if you already have documented processes and stable systems. | Ideal for companies still building processes, helping design and document as they go. |
| Scalability & Flexibility | Fixed structure, which is harder to scale up or down quickly or adjust the scope. | Flexible model that can scale up or down based on growth stage and needs. |
For many growing companies, the fractional model is the ideal “grow-into-it” solution, allowing you to access enterprise-level expertise while maintaining agility and cost control.
How Can Automation Strategy Group Help?
Automation Strategy Group works alongside you as your automation leadership team. As a HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Eloqua certified solutions partner, we assist companies in finding a more efficient process in their CRM, sales, and marketing workflows.
Your team will fully integrate as your Fractional Automation Officer, which includes strategy, execution, and ongoing optimization. You will have an automation roadmap that aligns with your objectives, supported by people who build and maintain the systems.
Bottom Line
In summary, a CAO promotes organizational efficiency by managing the automation plan, improving workflows, and connecting systems within the organization. These roles are now being added to growing companies to scale up.
However, if you are not ready to onboard a full-time CAO employee, a fractional CAO, backed by experts who regularly deal with the systems, will have the same effect at a lower cost.
A fraction CAO, supported by specialists who develop, maintain, and support your systems, gives you strategic leadership, in-the-trenches execution, flexible expense structures, and faster results.
To find out more about Fractional CAOs, schedule a free consultation with a member of our team.
