Most organizations say they want to combine digital and sustainability. Many add “human‑centric” to the slide. Far fewer build teams that can actually deliver all three at the same time. Twin transformation is not just a strategy; it is a capability issue. If the wrong people sit around the table, you get great decks and no outcomes.
Twin transformation teams that do land results – in supply chain, operations, and product – share one thing: they consciously mix digital, sustainability, and human skills in a small, focused team. Not twenty roles. Five.
Role 1: The Purpose and Value Lead (instead of the Change Lead)
This is the person who keeps asking: “Why are we doing this – and for whom?” They connect the transformation to concrete value for business, people, and planet, rather than to generic buzzwords.
What they bring:
- Strategic thinking: linking digital and sustainability initiatives to P&L, customer value, and impact.
- Storytelling: translating complex roadmaps into a simple, shared narrative that teams and stakeholders recognize themselves in.
Without this role, twin transformation becomes a list of projects instead of a coherent change.
Role 2: The Digital Data Architect (instead of the Solution, Systems and the Data Architect)
Twin transformation without someone who truly understands data, platforms, and integration quickly turns into PowerPoint. This role designs how systems, data, and analytics actually work together across the value chain.
What they bring:
- Digital fluency: understanding of core technologies (cloud, PLM/ERP, AI, digital twins, integration patterns) and how they support operations.
- Data thinking: the ability to model data flows end‑to‑end, define data ownership, and design for quality and reuse.
Without this role, sustainability dashboards stay disconnected from the operational data that should feed them.
Role 3: The Sustainability or the Impact Expert (instead of having No-one owning Sustainability on the Project)
Twin transformation requires someone who lives and breathes sustainability – and can translate regulation into practical design choices.
What they bring:
- Regulatory and standards insight: knowing which ESG, CSRD, taxonomy or industry‑specific rules really matter for the business.
- Impact framing: the ability to define concrete sustainability outcomes (emissions, waste, circularity, social) and embed them as design criteria in processes and systems.
Without this role, digital workstreams risk optimising only for efficiency, not for environmental or social impact.
Role 4: The Human‑Centric Transformation Lead (instead of the IT Project Lead)
This is the person who designs the journey with people, not around them. They focus on behaviour, learning, and psychological safety, so the change is something teams can and want to carry.
What they bring:
- Change and leadership skills: experience with co‑creation, stakeholder alignment, and building sponsorship beyond slides.
- Human‑centric design: involving users in design, testing, and refinement, and building in feedback loops that adapt the change as reality unfolds.
Without this role, even the best twin strategy hits the classic wall of “great idea, no adoption.”
Role 5: The Operational Anchor (instead of the Functional SME)
Twin transformation becomes real where work happens: in plants, warehouses, planning teams, product development. The operational anchor is the link between the transformation and day‑to‑day reality.
What they bring:
- Deep process knowledge: understanding of how things really run today (not just how they are documented), including constraints and informal workarounds.
- Pragmatism: sensing what is feasible, where to start, and which pilots will actually prove value on the ground.
Without this role, twin transformation remains abstract and misses the operational leverage points where it could have the most effect.
Putting the Team Together
These five roles do not have to be five separate full‑time positions on an org chart. In smaller organizations, one person can wear multiple hats; in larger transformations, you can create a dedicated “mini twin team” per value stream. The key is that all five perspectives are represented whenever you make decisions about scope, investments, and design.
Twin transformation is not just about combining digital and sustainability on slides, but in people, skills, and collaboration. Teams that connect strategic purpose, digital architecture, sustainability expertise, human‑centric change, and operational reality significantly increase the chances that transformation is not only decided but actually lived.