An executive assistant “figures out what time something goes on the calendar, but a chief of staff figures out whether it should go on the calendar at all,” said Clara Ma, founder and chief executive of Ask a Chief of Staff, a networking platform that brings together chiefs of staff across various industries. According to a survey she conducted, the position pays $150,000 to more than $200,000 a year, depending on experience.
Executive search firms like Russell Reynolds Associates are fielding more requests from companies to help recruit chiefs of staff. And companies aren’t looking to hire them just for the top boss. Lower level executives, such as vice presidents within marketing, communications and finance departments, are getting them as well.
In a dozen interviews conducted for this article, chief executives, consultants and chiefs of staff pointed to the increasing complexities of running a business in a time when artificial intelligence and geopolitics threaten to upend business models. Enter the chief of staff, who can be the “orchestrator” who ensures that leaders in the company are working together well, said Catherine Berardi, formerly the chief of staff to Mellody Hobson, a co-chief executive of Ariel Investments.
“When you think of these big issues that organizations have today — A.I., cybersecurity, customer success, growth — it’s hard to be like, ‘this is just your thing,’” said Ms. Berardi, who runs Prime Executive Office, a firm that places executive office leaders, including chiefs of staff. Chief executives, she said, “need somebody to make sure that that’s coordinated and successful and not a nightmare.”
A chief of staff’s tasks can vary widely, depending on what the boss wants or what a business needs. Some have direct reports; others don’t.
