New and Emerging Roles
Our research also explicitly asked respondents about
new and emerging job categories and functions that they
expect to become critically important to their industry by the
year 2020. Two job types stand out due to the frequency
and consistency with which they were mentioned across
practically all industries and geographies. The first are data
analysts, which companies expect will help them make
sense and derive insights from the torrent of data generated
by technological disruptions. The second are specialized
sales representatives, as practically every industry will need
to become skilled in commercializing and explaining their
offerings to business or government clients and consumers,
either due to the innovative technical nature of the products
themselves or due to new client targets with which the
company is not yet familiar, or both. A particular need is
also seen in industries as varied as Energy and Media,
Entertainment and Information for a new type of senior
manager who will successfully steer companies through the
upcoming change and disruption.