At the companies I'm familiar with, they're either programmable pundit (technical pre-sales or social marketing) or project manager for trendoid stuff beyond th

At the companies I'm familiar with, they're either programmable pundit (technical pre-sales or social marketing) or project manager for trendoid stuff beyond the interest/budget of engineering. In larger companies, CTOs have become like VPs at a bank - lots of them with little if any strategic influence. The "office" can be so large that a member may never see or even talk to the CTO proper. I once looked into one of those jobs but decided I'd rather be honest and work in sales or marketing.