The Chief Learning Officer

What Is a CLO?

Jack Welch and Steve Kerr established the position of chief learning officer (CLO) when Welch appointed Kerr to head General Electric’s training and development efforts. With this mandate, Kerr created GE’s pioneering Management Development Center in Crotonville, New York. The two men rejected the title “chief education officer,” because the acronym “CEO” is reserved for chief executive officers. They chose “learning” instead of “knowledge” because it is a verb and implies action. They planned educational programs at the Center that would spread important ideas throughout the company, give employees information and foster an organization without internal boundaries.

Today, top business leaders generally accept that a company requires a foundation of knowledgeable, talented people who must be hired, groomed and retained. Over the past decade or so, many companies have enriched their corporate cultures by emphasizing learning under the direction of a CLO. Demonstrating the business value that learning adds is a more recent concern. CLOs now focus on results that show how their work contributes to organizational success. CLO thought-leaders say the true...