Your Digital Strategy Is Only as Good as Your Product Team

A high-performing product team can make or break a company’s digital success. But where that team sits — under the CEO, CTO, or CMO — isn’t just a matter of org charts. It’s a strategic choice that shapes vision, speeds up execution, and determines how well your business stays relevant in a fast-moving market.

“I frequently encounter organizations grappling with the optimal placement of their Product teams within a digital business,” says Jamal Khan, Managing Partner of Amrop Carmichael Fisher in Australia.

“A high-performing product team has business acumen, design thinking, technical understanding, and project management expertise. Its core function is to deeply understand customer needs, translate those into compelling product solutions, and iterate continuously based on feedback and market shifts. The reporting line plays a critical role in enabling or hindering these capabilities.”

No One-Size-Fits-All Solution

“Ultimately, there is no universally 'best' reporting structure for a product team in a digital business,” concludes Khan. “The optimal placement depends heavily on the company's size, industry, product complexity, strategic priorities, and organisational culture.”

For startups and highly innovative businesses where rapid iteration and strategic alignment are paramount, reporting to the CEO can be highly effective, provided the CEO has a strong understanding and commitment to product.
In tech-driven companies with complex technical products, reporting to the CTO might be suitable, but it requires a conscious effort to maintain a strong customer focus and avoid becoming purely technology-led.
For consumer-facing businesses where market understanding, branding, and customer acquisition are critical, a reporting line to the CMO can ensure products resonate deeply with the target audience, but it necessitates robust technical and strategic safeguards.

Reporting to the CEO: Strategic Alignment and Autonomy

Pros

Reporting directly to the CEO offers unparalleled strategic alignment. The product team gains immediate access to the company's vision, strategic priorities, and direct input from the top.
The direct line ensures that product development is inherently tied to the highest-level business objectives, fostering a customer-centric and market-driven approach.
It empowers the product team with a high degree of autonomy, enabling faster decision-making and the ability to pivot swiftly in response to market changes or competitive threats.
The direct visibility also elevates the product manager's influence within the organization, making it easier to drive cross-functional collaboration and secure necessary resources.

Cons

CEOs are inherently focused on broad strategic initiatives and may lack the time or deep understanding of day-to-day product management intricacies. This can lead to a lack of detailed guidance or a misalignment if the CEO's understanding of product development nuances is limited.
The product team might also find itself competing with other executive priorities for limited resources, and there can be immense pressure to deliver immediate, enterprise-level impact with potentially lean resources.
Balancing strategic contributions with the tactical execution required for product delivery can also be a significant juggling act for product leaders.

Reporting to the CTO: Technical Depth and Execution Efficiency

Pros

Placing the product team under the CTO can foster strong technical alignment and execution efficiency. This structure ensures that product development benefits from deep technical expertise and that features are built with an eye towards feasibility, scalability, and robust architecture.
Communication between product and engineering teams can be significantly streamlined, leading to less friction, faster development cycles, and a unified approach to technical challenges.
It also allows for centralized accountability for both product vision and its technical implementation, potentially leading to more cohesive and well-engineered solutions. For highly technical products, this can be an advantageous setup.

Cons

The primary risk is a potential overemphasis on technical features at the expense of market needs or user experience. A CTO's inherent focus is technology, and without a strong counterbalancing voice, the product might become feature-rich but lack true market fit or user appeal.
This reporting structure can potentially lead to a "build it because we can" mentality rather than a "build it because customers need it" approach.
Conflicts can arise if the CTO and product team have differing priorities, and the product manager's exposure to broader business strategy or customer insights might be limited, potentially hindering their ability to define truly valuable products.

Reporting to the CMO: Market Understanding and User-centricity

Pros

A product team reporting to the CMO can foster a deeply user-centric and market-aware product strategy. The CMO brings extensive knowledge of customer behavior, market trends, brand positioning, and go-to-market strategies.
This reporting structure can lead to products that are highly attuned to customer preferences, effectively positioned in the market, and seamlessly integrated into marketing campaigns.
Such a structure promotes strong collaboration between product development and marketing, ensuring consistent messaging and a unified customer experience across all touchpoints. It can be particularly beneficial for consumer-facing products where brand perception and market adoption are critical.

Cons

The main pitfall of this structure is the potential for product development to become overly influenced by marketing's short-term campaign cycles or promotional needs, rather than long-term product vision.
There's a risk of features being prioritized based on marketing appeal rather than core user value or technical feasibility.
The product team might also lack sufficient technical oversight, potentially leading to challenges in execution or the accumulation of technical debt.
The CMO's focus is inherently outward-facing, and the internal operational aspects of product development might not receive the necessary attention or strategic guidance.

“Regardless of the direct reporting line, the key to an effective product team lies in fostering strong cross-functional collaboration with engineering, marketing, sales, and customer success,” Khan emphasizes. “Clear communication channels, shared goals (often articulated through OKRs), and a culture that prioritizes customer value and continuous learning are far more influential than any single reporting structure. The "who" they report to is less important than ensuring the product team has the autonomy, resources, and strategic clarity to build products that truly delight customers and drive sustainable business growth.”

To find out more, reach out to Jamal Khan or the Digital Practice member in your country.