Chief of Work: A Modern(a) C‑Suite Role

Looking Beyond the Org Chart

Moderna isn't the only firm with interesting C-suite roles. For example, ​Jacqui Canney​ is Chief People and AI Enablement Officer at ServiceNow, and ​Sharon Doherty​ is Chief People and Places Officer at Lloyds.

But structure alone doesn't create integration.

When I attended ​UNLEASH​, I met HR leaders whose division included their company's corporate real estate function. But I got blank stares when I asked how they integrated people and spatial experience data.

The silos remained, just under a different reporting structure.

This reflects something I've known for years: real estate organizations can sit almost anywhere in the organization. They're usually in Finance but could be in HR, COO/CAO, IT, and even Legal. This unpredictability makes it hard to benchmark them consistently.

The same applies to emerging EX functions.

Why Not IT and Real Estate?

Shortly after the Credit Suisse Smart Working program left the pilot stage, the Head of Technology Infrastructure also took on Corporate Real Estate. To grossly oversimplify it, that meant the person who decided what type of screens went into meeting rooms was also building the actual rooms.

That change dramatically accelerated the adoption of innovative technologies, such as virtual desktops with smart card authentication, mobile IP telephony, and BYOD. We even got rid of monitor arms because, in the senior leader's own words, they were "evil." A better tech helped increase sharing ratios and lower real estate costs.

Some of these platforms were already on the roadmap, but the advantages they provided for Smart Working helped accelerate them, similar to how COVID accelerated Zoom/Teams.

The walls between spaces and systems came down, not because of a fancy new title, but because one leader could see and make integrated decisions across both domains.

Chief of Work Vision Takes Shape

A 2014 CBRE ​report​ titled "Fast Forward 2030" predicted that:

"To optimize performance and the experience of work, the real estate, technology, and people and talent functions need to be aligned to a common purpose under the COO or even perhaps a Chief of Work."

The report was quite prescient:

"Human Resources as 'guardians of culture' are seen as important but often fail to step up and can be at times barriers. Shared Services and Corporate Real Estate are key implementers but create only workplace experiences, not work experiences."

Ten years later, we're still working toward this vision. Moderna's move and the other CXO titles I shared suggest we might be getting closer.

Principles Over Structure

Transforming EX effectively means following a few key principles:

1. Strategic architecture matters more than reporting lines. The EX organization must function as a visionary product owner with a coherent view of how work happens, regardless of its position.
2. Cross-functional accountability trumps hierarchy. End-to-end responsibility requires dedicated teams and visible executive ownership, not only consolidated titles.
3. Single source of truth. As I wrote for ​Vibe Officing​, companies must monitor both physical and digital experience metrics.
4. Dedicated, deployable funding. To address mismatched incentives for ​EX costs​, create dedicated budgets for use across all functions.

Three Emerging Archetypes

Three models are emerging for firms pursuing intergrate EX functions:

1. Dedicated Function: A direct CEO report with enterprise-wide authority (closest to "Chief of Work"). This approach maximizes visibility but could well struggle with execution authority.
2. Embedded within HR / Talent: The EX function reports to the CHRO but includes strategic elements of technology and physical space. This is the most common approach in my experience, especially with more real estate teams reporting through HR.
3. Virtual/Distributed Model: EX strategists from HR, IT, Real Estate, and other disciplines maintain their reporting lines but collaborate in an agile "chapter" model. This preserves depth of expertise while enabling cross-functional coordination.

Each model can work with shared principles and consistent measurement.

FYI, while the media was focusing on Jamie Dimon’s RTO policies, JPMC has built a version of model type 2. It's not perfect (e.g., the real estate side of the EX "product" sits separately) but it's pretty close.

My friend ​Jason Allen Ashlock​ dropped a truth bomb on the topic recently:

"EX isn't an easy fit for a traditional matrix organization. It shouldn't sit with a function, it shouldn't sit with a BU or product. EX has to sit with the part of the matrix that balances it all agnostically, which is general management or the Office of the CEO. But often they don't want it, or don’t know how to do it, or both. So that’s our problem."

This structural tension is precisely why CXO titles are evolving, but deeper operational and management practice changes are still required.

The Case for Change

Moderna's merger of People and Digital Technology reflects a practical truth: the employee digital experience is inseparable from the general employee experience.

But we don't want HR running cybersecurity, or IT running the promotion cycle, or real estate rolling out Microsoft CoPilot. The opportunity lies in creating strategic alignment at the leadership level while maintaining operational excellence within domains.

This is why the ideal "Chief of Work" function would include strategists from each discipline:

• From real estate: workplace strategists and design researchers
• From HR: people analytics, employee listening/engagement
• From IT: end user collaboration strategy and UX researchers

POP Quiz: How close (or not) are these roles in your org today?

With proper budget, a group like this could systematically improve multiple aspects of the worker journey, like ​onboarding​.

What to Do Now

As workplace transformation accelerates, the long-awaited "Chief of Work" role is taking shape. But organizations shouldn't fixate on perfect structures, they should:

1. Create a clear ​”North Star” vision​ that connects EX across domains
2. Establish common metrics that transcend functional boundaries
3. Build cross-functional teams that collaborate despite reporting lines
4. Create spaces where HR, IT, and Real Estate strategists can develop shared understanding of holistic EX

Look at your org chart today: where do your workplace strategists, end-user collaboration innovators, and employee experience designers sit?

If they can't finish each other’s sentences, that's your first opportunity.