Key Takeaways
- It is becoming more common for companies to search for a chief of staff, a second-in-command to the boss.
- According to the job posting site Indeed, listings for chief of staff roles are up 85% since early 2020.
- Richard Gelfond, CEO of Imax, hired his first chief of staff 16 years ago, and his requirements for the role have evolved since then.
Over 16 years ago, Richard Gelfond, CEO of Imax, went searching for his first chief of staff. He wanted someone to shadow him, take notes and tell him what came next in his schedule.
However, as Imax expanded, nearly quadrupling in scope from 55 theaters in 2010 to nearly 2,000 today, Gelfond’s requirements for a chief of staff grew too.
“They’re really invaluable in helping me think through what I want to say and what I want to accomplish and then how to execute it and helping me execute it,” Gelfond told The New York Times in a recent interview.
It is becoming more common to search for a chief of staff. According to the job posting site Indeed, listings for the role are up 85% since early 2020. In contrast, companies are searching for comparably fewer executive assistants and secretaries. Chief of staff is usually a senior role, often second-in-command to the boss, while executive assistants and secretaries are comparatively more junior.
A chief of staff as a coordinator and gatekeeper
Clara Ma, founder and CEO of Ask a Chief of Staff, a networking site that brings together chiefs of staff, told the Times that 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.”
The difference in responsibility leads to a notable difference in pay. According to a survey Ma conducted, chief of staff roles pay $150,000 to $200,000, depending on experience. In contrast, ZipRecruiter notes that the median pay for an executive assistant in New York City is $70,517.
Catherine Berardi was formerly the chief of staff to Mellody Hobson, a co-chief executive of Ariel Investments, and now runs Prime Executive Office, a company that matches executives with office leaders like chiefs of staff. She said in an interview with the Times that the chief of staff can be the “orchestrator” who coordinates events and activities for company leaders across divisions.
“When you think of these big issues that organizations have today — AI, cybersecurity, customer success, growth — it’s hard to be like, ‘this is just your thing,’” Berardi told the Times. CEOs “need somebody to make sure that that’s coordinated and successful and not a nightmare.”
Some employers are hiring before defining the role
As business leaders face more complex challenges, they increasingly see a trusted adviser as indispensable, though some are hiring chiefs of staff before defining exactly what the role will do.
“There’s a lot of people who are like Oprah — you should get a chief of staff! You should get a chief of staff,” Berardi said. “They’re such a follow-the-leader when it comes to this position.”
Instead of fearing being replaced by AI, Gelfond’s current chief of staff, Natalie Mayer, who is fluent in the technology, regularly suggests ways the organization can use it.
“Maybe they’ll teach me enough to replace themselves,” Gelfond told the Times. “But they haven’t done that yet.”
Key Takeaways
- It is becoming more common for companies to search for a chief of staff, a second-in-command to the boss.
- According to the job posting site Indeed, listings for chief of staff roles are up 85% since early 2020.
- Richard Gelfond, CEO of Imax, hired his first chief of staff 16 years ago, and his requirements for the role have evolved since then.
Over 16 years ago, Richard Gelfond, CEO of Imax, went searching for his first chief of staff. He wanted someone to shadow him, take notes and tell him what came next in his schedule.
However, as Imax expanded, nearly quadrupling in scope from 55 theaters in 2010 to nearly 2,000 today, Gelfond’s requirements for a chief of staff grew too.
“They’re really invaluable in helping me think through what I want to say and what I want to accomplish and then how to execute it and helping me execute it,” Gelfond told The New York Times in a recent interview.
