High School

A good foundation for future chief revenue officer work includes classes in mathematics, business, economics, and accounting. Communication skills are essential so be sure to take English and speech classes while in high school. Computer classes are also important.

Postsecondary Education

Most companies prefer to hire chief revenue officers who have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in business administration, economics, or finance. Chief revenue officers may also have a degree in accounting or marketing. Fortune 500 companies and large corporations often prefer to hire chief revenue officers who have a master's degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or taxation.

Certification

Voluntary certification improves chief revenue officers' knowledge and skills, and also improves their marketability. The Financial Management Association (https://www.fma.org/finance-certifications) offers certification in various finance specializations, including financial planner, financial analyst, management accountant, among many others. Chief revenue officers with accounting backgrounds can get certified in business accounting through the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (https://www.cimaglobal.com) and in international auditing and financial reporting through the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en.html) .

Chief revenue officers typically have 10 or more years of experience working in leadership roles in their industry.

The job entails strong communication skills; chief revenue officers must be able to clearly and effectively share information with people inside the organization as well as outside of the organization. Strong decision-making and leadership skills are essential, as is the ability to collaborate with others. Strong mathematical and analytical skills are critical in this type of work. Chief revenue officers must be critical thinkers, able to identify problems, evaluate options, and come up with solutions. People who do best in this profession are results oriented, able to work independently as well as with teams, have integrity, are responsible and dependable, and are willing to assume responsibilities and challenges. They are also able to calmly handle the high stress that comes with the job.