CDO
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Chief data officer |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Business & Finance |
CDO has four meanings. The most common are Chief data officer (job title) and Chief digital officer (job title); it can also stand for Chief diversity officer and Collateralized debt obligation.
Meanings of CDO at a glance
| # | CDO stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief data officer | Business & Finance › Job Title |
| 2 | Chief digital officer | Business & Finance › Job Title |
| 3 | Chief diversity officer | Business & Finance › Job Title |
| 4 | Collateralized debt obligation | Business & Finance › Bond & Fixed-Income |
1. Chief data officer
Business & Finance · Job Title Abbreviations
Executive who governs how an organization collects, manages, protects and uses data, covering data quality, governance, analytics platforms and compliance with privacy rules. The CDO aims to treat data as a strategic asset.
Example: The CDO set up a single customer data platform so marketing and finance stop reporting different numbers.
Capital One is often credited with appointing one of the first chief data officers, in 2002. The US Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 requires federal agencies to name CDOs. The abbreviation is shared with chief digital officer and chief diversity officer, so full titles are usually given.
2. Chief digital officer
Business & Finance · Job Title Abbreviations
Executive who leads an organization's digital transformation, such as e-commerce, digital products, mobile apps and online customer experience, helping traditional businesses compete with digital-native rivals. The role is common in retail, media, banking and consumer goods.
Example: The retailer's CDO aims to make online orders half of sales by 2028.
The role grew rapidly in the 2010s, and some companies later folded it into the CEO, CIO or CMO mandate once digital work became mainstream. In finance, CDO more often refers to a collateralized debt obligation, a structured credit product.
3. Chief diversity officer
Business & Finance · Job Title Abbreviations
Executive responsible for an organization's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, including recruiting practices, employee resource groups, training and reporting on workforce demographics. The role is found in corporations, universities and government agencies.
Example: The CDO publishes the company's workforce demographics report each spring.
Many companies created or expanded the role after 2020; since 2023 some US states, universities and companies have eliminated DEI offices amid legal and political pressure, and other roles have been retitled. Because CDO has several meanings, announcements usually write the title out in full.
4. Collateralized debt obligation
Business & Finance · Bond & Fixed-Income Abbreviations
Structured security that pools debt, such as corporate bonds, loans or mortgage-backed securities, and slices the cash flows into tranches ranked by seniority, from AAA-rated senior notes to a high-risk equity tranche that absorbs losses first.
Example: CDOs packed with subprime mortgage bonds were downgraded en masse in 2007 and 2008.
CDOs backed by subprime mortgage securities, including "CDO-squared" deals that held other CDOs, caused huge losses in the 2008 financial crisis and featured in the book and film The Big Short. Today the most common type is the collateralized loan obligation (CLO). In job titles, CDO means chief data officer.
Related abbreviations
More job title abbreviations
- CAIO – Chief AI officer
- CAO – Chief accounting officer
- CBO – Chief business officer
- CCO – Chief compliance officer
- CEO – Chief executive officer
- CFO – Chief financial officer
- CGO – Chief growth officer
- CHRO – Chief human resources officer
See all 70 job title abbreviations →