Many organizations today don’t have a Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO) — and many executives have probably never heard the term. But make no mistake: CTrOs are real and, increasingly, mission‑critical. In a world where transformation isn’t a one‑off initiative but a relentless, organizational imperative, the CTrO is the executive muscle honed to push through change — and hold transformation together.

🔍 WhoAre CTrOs?

Deloitte’s 2025 Chief Transformation Officer Study, surveying over 300 leaders, paints a vivid portrait of the evolving CTrO role. Once rare, now nearly half (48%) of CTrOs are fully dedicated — a dramatic leap from just 2% in 2022. These are leaders experienced in navigating large-change programs — 90% have led three or more — and now they’re anchoring enterprise-wide efforts with authority and executive bandwidth.

💰 Upgrading the Toolkit: Budgets, Talent & Leadership

The Study outlines six critical insights guiding transformation efforts:

1. Budget increases – Organizations have ramped up transformation budgets up to 2.5× year-over-year, signaling board and investor buy-in.
2. Human capital focus – Teams are moving from contract labor to internal full-time talent, with most resources embedded in transformation for the long haul.
3. Seasoned leadership – CTrOs are now full-time, senior executives who’ve repeatedly run transformations — no more assigning extra duties on top of a day job.
4. Change management matters – Yet even amid headcount and budget increases, investment in change management and talent is underfunded. Some 42% of CTrOs would reallocate more resources to talent, and 33% would do so for communications.
5. Execution is the crux – Execution-phase failures outweigh planning struggles. Three of the top five challenges focus on “getting things done” — resourcing, change and communication.
6. Measurement drives success – Over 80% of programs are on track to hit their targets — up from 75% in 2022 — as companies sharpen KPIs and accountability frameworks.
   

📊 Benchmark Your Transformation Maturity

If you’re a CXO or leader in the transformation game, here’s where your organization might stack up:

• Budget commitment: Are you investing multiple percentage points of revenue into transformation? Leaders here report 1–5% (often 6–10%) of annual revenues go toward transformation.
• Leader focus: Does your CTrO or equivalent devote 100% time to transformation? Full-time dedication is now table stakes.
• Talent deployment: Are you pulling internal experts, not external consultants? More than half your team should be full-time and in-house.
• Change management: Are you investing in talent, training and proactive communications — or still hoping for buy-in by announcement?
• Execution oversight: Do you have governance in place ensuring problems are caught and solved in real-time, not after deadlines are missed?
• Robust KPI strategy: Are you measuring BOTH leading and lagging indicators, treating KPIs as strategic tools — not just scorecard fodder?

Rate yourselves through this checklist. If you’re scoring high across all six pillars, congratulations — you’re functioning as an always-on enterprise transformation engine. Missed on one or two? That’s your gap map.

🧭 Fatigue on the Frontlines

Yet even with all this, many CXOs are feeling it. The transformation fatigue is real.

• Goalposts are shifting faster: Technologies emerge, macro pressures spike, competition intensifies. Who knew generative AI would become a core driver in margin and transformation plays? Yet 50% of organizations are building out transformation-specific leadership and budgeting — making it clear this isn’t a passing fad.
• Leadership burnout: CTrOs are shoulder-deep in change, governance and execution minutiae — on top of strategy. The average CTrO spends 31% of their time as Strategist, 23% as Change‑Champion… and another 21% as Operator. That’s a full-time job…and then some.
• Board and stakeholder pressure: Budgets are bigger, KPIs sharper, but demands are too. Investors and Boards want transformation AND margin improvement, all without disruption to current operations.
• Underfunded soft side: No matter how much money is thrown at tech, if change isn’t managed, initiatives stall. As one Deloitte executive put it, “money and resources are the easy part…the real accelerator is embedding continuous change management”.
  

🚀 Building Stamina Over Sprints

Transformation muscle isn’t built in a six-month sprint — it’s forged in endurance.

Here’s how the most effective CTrOs are creating transformation stamina:

• Consciously fund the people side – Don’t just build org charts — invest in coaches, champions, coaches of champions.
• Embed governance into rhythm – Weekly steering versus quarterly review. Real-time problem-solving beats backlog triage.
• Design with outcomes in mind – Success isn’t hitting milestones; it’s embedding new behaviors and unlocking value.
• Mix leading and lagging KPIs – Track adoption rates, system usage, process efficiency — and revenue, cost, margin, satisfaction.
• Normalize “always-on” transformation – You don’t stop transforming. It becomes core DNA.
  

📝 In Summary

CTrOs are no longer niche: They are now central to enterprise strategy, with full-time focus, bigger budgets and immense expectations. But with great power comes great fatigue — and without investment in change leadership, execution governance and measurement, transformation can stall or fail.

For CXOs reading this today: Take the Deloitte Benchmarks and ask:

• Are you investing the right kinds of capital?
• Is your transformation leadership fully empowered and focused?
• Have you built resistance into your execution model?

Because one thing is clear: Disruption isn’t letting up. Transformation fatigue won’t disappear. Your goal is survival and evolution. The mission-critical question is whether your organization has the stamina to keep playing.

Alan Shimel is the editor‑in‑chief and founder of DigitalCxO.com, where enterprise leaders share bold insights and practical guidance in the digital age.