The CRO Is Not a Senior VP of Sales
The most common mistake in CRO hiring is treating the role as a promotion from VP of Sales. A VP of Sales owns the direct sales function. A CRO owns the full go-to-market — including marketing, partnerships, and customer success. The skills required are different. The leadership challenges are different. And the failure modes are different: a CRO who defaults to managing sales while neglecting customer success or marketing creates structural commercial dysfunction that takes 18 months to surface and 18 months to correct.
Majhi Group places Chief Revenue Officers at high-growth companies from Series B through pre-IPO. Every search includes a structured assessment of what "full GTM ownership" means at this specific company — because the CRO mandate varies significantly by stage, market, and business model.
What the CRO Role Actually Covers
CRO Ownership Scope
CRO Assessment Dimensions
Cross-functional leadership, not just sales leadership
CRO candidates who have only led direct sales functions face a steep learning curve managing marketing and customer success for the first time. The assessment profiles the candidate's actual cross-functional experience — not just their title history.
Data architecture and revenue operations fluency
The CRO who cannot build and interpret a revenue model — pipeline coverage, CAC, LTV, churn, expansion revenue — creates board-level problems. Assessment includes an explicit probe on how candidates approach revenue analytics and reporting.
CEO operating relationship
The CRO sits one level below CEO and represents the commercial surface of the business. The CEO-CRO relationship is the most consequential executive relationship in the company — and the most common reason CROs depart prematurely. Assessment includes an explicit exploration of what conditions make this relationship work.
Stage-appropriate commercial model experience
The CRO at Series B is building the revenue system. The CRO at Series C is scaling a system that exists. Pre-IPO, the CRO is preparing the business for public market scrutiny. Each stage demands a different operating profile.
"The CRO hire that misses is not just a missed quota. It is a misaligned commercial organisation that requires 12 months to reset — after the wrong leader leaves. The stakes justify the rigour."
Majhi Group CRO Search Track Record
Majhi Group closes CRO searches in 30–45 days with a 90%+ offer acceptance rate and a 90-day replacement guarantee. Every candidate is assessed against the full scope of the CRO mandate — not just against their sales leadership track record.