The role of the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) has evolved from its origins in urban governance to an emerging model in the corporate world. Initially introduced through initiatives such as 100 Resilient Cities by the Rockefeller foundation to coordinate cross-sector responses, the CRO was designed as a senior integrator, responsible for embedding resilience by bringing together different stakeholders. As resilience has become more formalised through standards and regulations, the need for centralised leadership has extended into the corporate domain. While resilience activities often remain distributed across functions such as business continuity, operational risk, and cyber security, growing regulatory and systemic pressures are driving calls for clearer executive ownership. Drawing on academic research, professional guidance, in-depth interviews, this paper argues that the emerging role of the CRO in the corporate world rests on cross-functional coordination, governance alignment, and senior-level accountability, building on existing technical knowledge.
