Trust is increasingly important in today’s business landscape. Research shows trustworthy companies outperform competitors, and trust drives sales and impacts brand loyalty. According to the most recent Edelman Trust Barometer, trust is one of the top three most important purchase criteria for buyers, alongside quality and value for money. 

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However, trust is also difficult to achieve, especially amid geopolitical uncertainty, media polarization, rapid digital transformation, data breaches, and rising consumer expectations.

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As trust becomes increasingly important—but harder to achieve—businesses seek to establish clear lines of accountability and ownership over it. That’s why, over the past few years, a new C-suite role has emerged: Chief Trust Officer (CTrO). 

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What is a Chief Trust Officer?

A Chief Trust Officer leads trust-centric initiatives to enhance customer, employee, and stakeholder confidence. Their responsibilities include compliance, risk management, ethics, and addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. The role aims to foster trust to drive business growth.

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The scope of a CTrO’s role may include: 

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• Assessing trust levels within and outside the organization. 
• Promoting initiatives that improve corporate culture and employee satisfaction.
• Creating internal governance frameworks and new standards for products and services.
• Developing robust standards around security, privacy, and compliance and managing contractual commitments around security, privacy, and compliance issues.
• Developing and overseeing the execution of sustainability initiatives.
• Facilitating communications between an organization and its customers and stakeholders—particularly during security incidents. 
• Bridging the gap between trust and business growth—proving the impact of trust initiatives. 

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{{cta_withimage17="/cta-modules"}}  | The State of Trust Report 2024

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Chief trust officers in the technology sector

Trust is essential in industries like healthcare and finance, where companies handle sensitive customer data. It’s one reason intense regulatory standards exist in these industries. Trust is also crucial in the technology sector, where safeguarding data is paramount. Digital security and data privacy are constantly threatened, and consumers are wary of frequent breaches and threats to the privacy of their personal information. 

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That’s why top technology companies have all emphasized the importance of trust via Chief Trust Officer roles. Vikram Rao was appointed Chief Trust Officer at Atlassian in 2023 and joins a growing number of veteran CTrOs who have held that position at multiple technology companies over the past few years. Another veteran CTrO, Brad Arkin, joined Salesforce in 2024 to work with “customers, partners, and the company’s extended ecosystem to prioritize trust and security in an AI-first world.“ 

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Zendesk and DocuSign have also doubled down on their commitment to trust by adding Chief Trust and Security Officers to their ranks in recent years. The addition of a CTrO not only serves internal needs—it also signals to stakeholders that these companies deeply value their commitment to trust and privacy. 

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Other large technology companies employ adjacent C-suite positions with similar goals. For example, IBM, Microsoft, and Google all employ Chief Privacy Officers to lead privacy and compliance efforts.

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Professional background and experience: How to become a Chief Trust Officer

Chief Trust Officers focus on initiatives ranging from regulatory compliance to digital transformation and sustainability. For that reason, many CTrOs today landed in their current positions after years of experience in key IT and security roles, such as CISOs or compliance experts. 

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A CTrO's typical background includes compliance, risk management, legal affairs, or cybersecurity expertise. CTrOs also commonly possess advanced degrees in law, business, or related fields and certifications in privacy or ethical business practices.

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Quantifying the value of a chief trust officer

The CTrO is a relatively new position, and quantifying the value of trust is still a moving target. Results are often measured holistically—by reviewing a range of metrics, including client retention rates, employee engagement and retention, and net promoter scores to measure brand affinity. 

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Blueprints like Deloitte’s “Four Factors of Trust” have also recently emerged to help establish, measure, and track an organization’s trust levels.

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The future of trust

The rise of Chief Trust Officers proves that trust is essential to business growth. Modern organizations must prioritize trust to succeed in today’s business landscape and satisfy the needs of increasingly discerning buyers and stakeholders. 

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As cybersecurity threats increase, regulatory landscapes become more complex, and consumer expectations continue to rise—the role of the Chief Trust Officer will become even more critical to the C-suite. 

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