Chief Growth Officer
SkyWater Search Partners has been retained by Christian Brothers Services to identify their first Chief Growth Officer who will help shape the organization’s next chapter of growth.
For more than 60 years, Christian Brothers Services has served Catholic and faith-based organizations across the country through a broad portfolio of health, retirement, risk, and consulting solutions. Today, CBS supports approximately 4,000 member organizations and has built a strong reputation as a trusted, mission-driven partner.
The Chief Growth Officer is a newly created executive role designed to bring greater focus, coordination, and accountability to how CBS approaches growth across the enterprise. Reporting directly to the President & CEO, this leader will oversee and connect key market-facing functions including sales, business development, marketing, communications, and relationship management.
This opportunity is especially compelling for a leader who enjoys building. CBS has strong relationships, established service offerings, and significant reach within the Catholic community, but there is an opportunity to create a more modern and integrated approach to marketing, demand generation, business development, and enterprise relationship growth.
The CGO will help define where CBS should focus, how the organization should go to market, and how its teams can work together more effectively across Health, Retirement, Risk, and Consulting. This includes identifying new-member opportunities, deepening appropriate relationships within the existing member base, strengthening marketing capabilities, and bringing greater structure to product positioning and go-to-market planning.
The role will require both strategic range and a hands-on mindset. CBS is not looking for a leader who operates several layers removed from execution. The successful candidate will be comfortable establishing the vision while also building processes, developing teams, improving systems, and creating the infrastructure necessary to turn strategy into measurable growth.
This individual will also need to be an effective enterprise partner. The CGO will work closely with divisional leaders rather than replacing their ownership of member service, retention, product performance, or operations. Success will depend on the ability to influence across the organization, create alignment, and establish a more consistent approach to how CBS presents its capabilities to the market.
*** This position offers a competitive executive compensation package, including base salary, performance-based incentives, a defined benefit pension plan, 403(b) with company match, and comprehensive benefits. ***
*** Candidates must be based in the greater Chicago area or willing to relocate. The position is headquartered in Romeoville, Illinois and requires regular in-person engagement with the executive team, along with national travel to members, prospects, and industry events. ***
Responsibilities
- Enterprise Growth Strategy
- Build and execute an enterprise-wide growth strategy aligned with CBS’s mission and long-term priorities
- Identify and prioritize growth opportunities across target markets, member segments, and service lines
- Establish clear growth goals, performance measures, and accountability processes
- Evaluate market trends, competitive activity, member needs, and emerging opportunities
- Advise the President & CEO and executive leadership team on growth priorities, market positioning, and strategic partnerships Sales & Business Development
- Lead enterprise sales and business development strategy across the organization
- Strengthen new-member acquisition, prospect development, pipeline management, and forecasting
- Build a consultative sales approach centered on trust, service, and long-term member relationships
- Create greater consistency in sales processes, CRM utilization, data quality, and opportunity tracking
- Coordinate business development efforts across divisions and ensure growth plans align with operational capabilities Member & Relationship Growth
- Develop strategies to deepen relationships across CBS’s existing member base
- Identify appropriate opportunities to introduce additional CBS services where they provide meaningful member value
- Support strategic account planning and enterprise relationship mapping
- Improve coordination between relationship management, sales, marketing, and divisional teams
- Help establish a more consistent enterprise approach to member engagement Marketing & Market Development
- Modernize and strengthen CBS’s marketing capabilities to support awareness, demand generation, and business development
- Lead digital marketing, content strategy, campaigns, events, thought leadership, public relations, and market engagement
- Clarify and strengthen CBS’s market positioning and value proposition
- Use analytics and market insights to measure effectiveness and guide investment
- Expand the organization’s visibility and reputation across the Catholic and faith-based marketplace Product & Go-to-Market Strategy
- Partner with divisional leaders to evaluate product portfolios, market positioning, and emerging member needs
- Introduce greater discipline around product management and go-to-market planning
- Support the evaluation and launch of new products, services, and strategic initiatives
- Translate member feedback, competitive intelligence, and market data into actionable recommendations
- Develop repeatable approaches to value proposition development, product positioning, and lifecycle management Leadership & Organizational Development
- Lead and develop sales, marketing, communications, business development, and relationship management capabilities
- Build the systems, processes, metrics, and structure necessary to support enterprise growth
- Promote greater collaboration and accountability across market-facing functions
- Partner effectively with divisional leaders while respecting their ownership of operations and member service
- Serve as a hands-on executive capable of both setting direction and driving execution
Desired Skills and Experience
- MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree required
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience across growth strategy, marketing, sales, business development, product management, communications, or related functions
- 7–10+ years of experience leading teams, senior professionals, or significant cross-functional initiatives
- Demonstrated success building or transforming growth-related capabilities
- Strong understanding of consultative selling, business development, relationship growth, product positioning, and go-to-market strategy
- Experience operating across multiple products, services, customer segments, or business lines
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and drive initiatives across functions PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in business administration, marketing, communications, nonprofit management, product management, or a related discipline
- Experience within insurance, employee benefits, retirement services, financial services, risk management, consulting, healthcare, or a related sector
- Experience within a mid-sized organization where leaders remain close to execution
- Experience serving Catholic, faith-based, nonprofit, educational, healthcare, or ministry-based organizations
- Experience leading or integrating multiple market-facing functions KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & ABILITIES
- Growth Strategy – Ability to identify opportunities and convert them into practical, sustainable growth plans
- Enterprise Perspective – Connects opportunities across business lines and creates alignment around shared priorities
- Commercial Acumen – Strong understanding of sales pipelines, business development, relationship expansion, and revenue growth
- Marketing Leadership – Understands modern marketing, demand generation, positioning, content, and market engagement
- Product & Market Insight – Uses member needs and competitive intelligence to inform product strategy and go-to-market decisions
- Relationship Building – Develops trusted relationships with executives, member organizations, partners, and external stakeholders
- Executive Influence – Able to create alignment and drive action across functions without relying solely on direct authority
- Data Orientation – Uses CRM data, pipeline metrics, analytics, and market intelligence to guide decision-making
- Builder Mentality – Comfortable creating new processes, capabilities, and structure in an evolving environment
- Communication – Communicates clearly, persuasively, and credibly across a range of audiences
- Change Leadership – Able to introduce new approaches and bring teams along through change
- Mission Alignment – Approaches growth in a way that reflects CBS’s service-oriented, faith-based mission
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