There's really very many types of "CTO" roles, some of which: * The pure people and executive manager: This is a VP of Engineering by another name, usually in

There's really very many types of "CTO" roles, some of which: * The pure people and executive manager: This is a VP of Engineering by another name, usually in a company that hasn't split the role into two yet. * The pure technical CTO: Often the most active contributor to the codebase. Has a strong VPE or Director of Eng for people management (or regrets not having them) * The innovator: Works on special projects to find new strategic direction / prove out new technology. Often has a small team focused with them on that or engineers get to do rotations on that team * The all-arounder: Usually in a smaller startup, the CTO does a bit of all these things until can fill in with other folks If you want to aspire to be a CTO someday, heed the author's advice: "Apply technology to the business need." You can be the smartest and most technical person in the room, but if you don't know how to resourcefully apply tech to efficiently solve business problems then the executives are not going to look to you for that role. And as the author notes: "respond to changes in the environment." I've so often seen the smartest and most technical team members get stuck in a rigid way of doing things, but the folks who advance are the ones that adapt quickly to the present need.