That in any case is the opinion of Dirk Müller, CIO at Franz Haniel & Cie. and CEO of the associated digitization strategists at Schacht One, and Heidi Moser, Head of HR at Ratioform Verpackungen . In a preliminary interview at the HRM Expo, to take place in Cologne from September 11 to 13, the two gave presentations on the topics of the chief digital officer (CDO) and human resources (HR). According to Müller, the CDO, increasingly common in industry, is not only important for triggering the digital transformation and its subsequent monitoring. Skilled digital strategists also develop new business models and work closely with other departments such as IT and marketing. The position is thus increasingly becoming a general "Head of Innovation" across all company departments.

According to Heidi Moser, corporate HR departments thus need the right strategy to recruit qualified professionals – after all, the CDO's plans can be effectively implemented only by using the right know-how. According to Moser, different approaches could facilitate this process: in addition to the transfer of knowledge among staff, the use of in-house networks as well as classical recruiting instruments could help. Another option is training in-house junior staff: for example, together with the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences, the packaging specialists at Ratioform have been offering graduates a "Digital Business" dual degree program since 2015.