The Modern Sustainability Leader - A New Path to the CEO?

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) role has undergone a radical evolution. Once focused primarily on voluntary reporting, policy formation and goal-setting, today’s CSO are strategists, futurists and value creators, that drive commercial impact while shaping business culture and long-term performance.

In this episode, Liz Brown, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer at Inchcape, and Andrew Lowe, Senior Client Partner, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, EMEA at Korn Ferry International, explore how the CSO role has evolved into one of the most strategic positions in global business. They unpack the traits, capabilities and organizational expectations needed to thrive and why the CSO role is now a stepping stone to broader executive leadership roles.

Key Learnings from this episode:

• Understand how the CSO role has shifted from reporting-focused tasks to a strategically critical position that shapes business direction, culture and long-term value creation.
• Explore why sustainability teams are increasingly prioritizing strategy and transformation, while functions like finance, legal and risk teams take the lead on compliance and reporting.
• Uncover how growing board involvement is redefining expectations for CSOs, shaping the skills, mindsets and experiences organizations now seek.
• Learn what differentiates top CSOs today, including the ability to translate sustainability into commercial value, navigate emerging risks and build enterprise-wide influence.