Chief Strategy Officers

You can obtain hands-on experience in business and develop your leadership skills by joining student business organizations—such as DECA (https://www.deca.org), Future Business Leaders of America (https://www.fbla.org), Junior Achievement (https://jausa.ja.org), and Business Professionals of America (http://bpa.org). Some organizations offer business and finance competitions. For example, DECA offers the following competitions that will be of interest to aspiring strategy officers: Business Growth Plan, Business Solutions Project, Finance Operations Research, and Innovation Plan Event.

Participate in information interviews and job-shadowing experiences with chief strategy officers to learn about their work and make networking contacts. Attend summer career exploration programs in business, finance, and related fields at colleges and universities to learn more about these fields and see what it’s like to learn at the college level. Serve in leadership positions in school clubs or other organizations to build experience managing others, planning events, and developing short- and long-term strategies for the success of your organization.