From CEO to COO: When is changing the directional positive in careers?
Tags: COO, Culture, Career Change, Careers, CEO

From CEO to COO: When is changing the directional positive in careers? Sinch Follow Jul 6 · 4 min read

Written by Marcia Asano — COO and DPO

For many people, talking or even thinking about changes is a source of chills. But, in my opinion, when you think about continuous improvement, you have to face this giant and go after him. Many people ask me why I put aside the role of CEO of a startup to take over as COO of a larger company. These people also ask me, what is the difference between the roles of these two positions, and I like to explain by saying that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) makes the promises, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) makes the promises. complies, whether for customers, shareholders, employees or partners.

But in the juncture of the COO, the biggest assignment is to take something off the paper, and then make it scale. That is, being able to reconcile the challenges of always bringing something new, but at the same time, making the operation run smoothly and scale, generating more and more margin and profit for the company without forgetting the other areas that are also fundamental in the business, like that of People. In any case, both have the mission to look beyond the business, and the mind of any C-Level always asks: would I invest in this idea? Does she have an attractive comeback? Will it still be flashy in five years? Is this business in front of others more attractive to investors? Among other issues.

For me, this kind of challenge, that of being in constant evolution, is what jumps out and shines in the eyes, and it was the lure to make the career change effective. If the company you work for provides the opportunity to have a sense of ownership, and you want to be part of the project in a deeper way, there, side by side with the team, change the direction, without a doubt, it will be positive in your career. Added to this, in my case, there was also a bonus, which was to help solve a complete market chain that can still be improved a lot, since in our business we optimize the customer experience at all levels. So I was able to intensively use Artificial Intelligence as well as impact our services globally. And these are reasons enough for my choice of transition.

In addition, having occupied both positions more than once has given me a versatility to think with both hats, as I know the CEO’s challenge to lead transformations, and I also know that it is not enough to lead if the achievements resulting from change not materialize. I emphasize that it is vital that this role is clear for the professional.

With the decision made, there are countless lessons learned that I take as experience for the challenge of being the Chief Operating Officer. But the biggest one I had when I was CEO of a startup is knowing how to make a real pitch for the business. Do ‘Pitch Deck’ of your business, provokes you to wonder why you would launch this service? What is the true value of this business? What is the market? Is it the right timing? What problem are you solving? And why are we supposed to do this? This type of questioning helps a lot to reflect our routine, and understand if we are moving in the right direction and at the right speed. My experience in a large organization, on the other hand, helps me to think about how to deliver value to customers, while learning at a startup causes me to change and not accommodate myself with choices.

Having said all that, it is still worth remembering that having a good grasp of all business topics is essential to having a complete vision of the company. Also, regardless of CEO or COO, tying the ends of different areas is part of the job and is a prerequisite for these professionals. In fact, I consider it essential to be able to balance the sectors working in harmony, since separate commands can create silos, and especially in the midst of a global crisis, having a unified and strong team makes a difference both in the context of daily life and in the end result for the customer.

*Marcia Asano is COO and DPO of WAVY Global (now Sinch), a company in the Movile group that brings together messaging, content and complete customer experience solutions. He has over 20 years of experience in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. As a data scientist, he developed his career always defending and disseminating the use of data in companies and organizations. Graduated in Mathematics from USP, Computer Science from UFSC and Administration from FEA USP.