Success Profile: Chief Digital Officer Role, Jamaliya Cobine

08/06/24 • 30 min

To kick off a new series of special episodes here at How I Hire, we’re taking a close look at the chief digital officer role. Throughout this series, we’ll hear from different C-level executives about their unique functions, responsibilities, and skill sets in order to learn just what it takes to successfully hire – or be hired as – top tier talent.

Jamaliya Cobine is an accomplished chief digital officer and digital marketing expert, having spent the past decade plus helping businesses develop their user experience, e-commerce platforms, and strategic digital initiatives. Jamaliya has an impressive track record, working for major brands like Urban Outfitters, Burton Snowboards, Wüsthof, and Topshop. She is currently the CDO of Omorovicza Cosmetics, where she continues her legacy of implementing consumer-centric business strategy, omni-channel technology, and transformative approaches to digital marketing. With in-depth experience across the apparel, outdoor, beauty, home goods, and fashion industries, Jamaliya is the perfect leader to help us learn everything there is to know about the chief digital officer role.

Jamaliya and Roy discuss the key functions of a CDO (and how they vary, depending on business structure), how competitive the market is for hiring CDOs, important trends affecting CDOs’ work, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

The scope and primary accountabilities of the CDO role (2:13)
Strategy and goal-setting when starting at a new company (4:44)
Challenges and opportunities facing CDOs today (6:30)
How company structure affects a CDO’s functions and responsibilities (12:03)
The structure of Jamaliya’s team (13:08)
Competencies and capabilities necessary to be a successful CDO (17:15)
What boards, investors, or CEOs should be aware of when initiating a CDO search (20:00)
Common hurdles or barriers to success faced by incoming CDOs (21:28)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

Follow Roy Notowitz and Noto Group Executive Search on LinkedIn for updates and featured career opportunities.

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Highlights from our conversation include:

The scope and primary accountabilities of the CDO role (2:13)
Strategy and goal-setting when starting at a new company (4:44)
Challenges and opportunities facing CDOs today (6:30)
How company structure affects a CDO’s functions and responsibilities (12:03)
The structure of Jamaliya’s team (13:08)
Competencies and capabilities necessary to be a successful CDO (17:15)
What boards, investors, or CEOs should be aware of when initiating a CDO search (20:00)
Common hurdles or barriers to success faced by incoming CDOs (21:28)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

Follow Roy Notowitz and Noto Group Executive Search on LinkedIn for updates and featured career opportunities.

Subscribe to How I Hire:

Previous Episode

Nadine Hall on Building and Supporting Teams at Hanesbrands

Nadine Hall is a cross-functional business leader, having spent decades innovating in apparel and consumer products at companies like HanesBrands and Sara Lee. At both the president and SVP levels, Nadine oversaw billions of dollars of retail value, built and developed successful teams, and established high-growth business models across a variety of product lines and business units. Nadine’s leadership style includes a collaborative approach to innovative business strategy, data-driven analytics, and breakthrough models for brand growth and development. She’s also a board member, consultant, and advisor for companies in and outside the apparel industry.

Nadine and Roy discuss how she developed her approach to leadership, what she looks for when interviewing potential candidates, the importance of a forward-thinking hiring strategy, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

Experiences that shaped Nadine’s approach to leadership and hiring (3:20)
Development internal teams vs. recruiting external candidates (10:34)
What Nadine looked for when hiring for her leadership team (12:28)
Evaluating a candidate’s ability to navigate a large corporate matrix (19:14)
Supporting her team when they were making high stakes hires (25:37)
Lessons learned from hiring successes and failures (27:43)
What Nadine wishes she knew earlier in her career (31:16)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

Follow Roy Notowitz and Noto Group Executive Search on LinkedIn for updates and featured career opportunities.

Subscribe to How I Hire:

Next Episode

The Power of A Customer-Centered Mindset with Ben Steele, former REI CCO

Ben Steele is a seasoned marketing and brand development leader, having most recently served as REI’s inaugural chief customer officer. Prior to carving out this new role at the Co-op, Ben began at REI in 2014 as chief creative officer. Over more than ten years at one of the country’s largest and most preeminent outdoor retailers, Ben has led brand stewardship and strategy, shepherded large-scale marketing initiatives, engaged and grown REI’s 24.5 million-strong worldwide membership, and connected essential merchandising, digital, and physical assets – amongst many other functions at the Co-op – all with the goal of sharing and facilitating a deep passion for the outdoors.

Ben and Roy discuss the inspiration for creating the chief customer officer role (as well as the challenges of being the first to occupy the position), navigating the ever-changing context of customer experience, and vital competencies he’s learned to nurture and develop within his teams.

Highlights from our conversation include:

His initial action items upon joining REI (3:57)
How Ben translated REI’s brand and culture through its employee base (6:07)
The functions reporting into the chief customer officer role and the structure of Ben’s former team (9:55)
Opportunities he’s had to bring the REI brand life for customers and members (12:35)
Necessary adaptations and evolutions at REI in the past five years (17:42)
The ways in which being a part of a co-op influenced Ben’s approach to leadership and collaboration (20:40)
How to determine whether or not a company is serving their customers well (26:58)
Ben’s predictions for the future of retail (32:03)
Recommended resources for professional development, news, and networking (35:48)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

Follow Roy Notowitz and Noto Group Executive Search on LinkedIn for updates and featured career opportunities.

Subscribe to How I Hire: