Published: 30 January 2024
Gartner’s 2023 Tech CEO Benchmarks Survey shows that successful tech CEOs focus on either high growth or high profits, and it reveals key differentiations between the two types. The survey also shows that both types of tech CEOs are more likely to reach the Rule of 40 than tech CEOs without focus.
Companies that do not prioritize investing in either high growth or profitability maximization produce underperformance in both growth and profitability.
High-growth organizations have considerably greater net revenue retention (NRR) year over year (120%) than moderate-growth (97%) or low-growth (99%) organizations. This acts as the engine powering their accelerated expansion.
Compared with moderate- and low-growth companies, high-growth organizations spend more (as a percentage of revenue) on general and administrative (G&A), sales, and R&D.
Both moderate- and low-growth companies see high revenue per employee, whereas high-growth companies produce significantly lower revenue per employee.
Tech CEOs:
Choose to focus on either growth or profits
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Analysts:
Forest Conner, Charlie Xu
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