In the case of a limited liability company, an executive officer is any member, manager, or officer. The responsibilities of an organization’s CEO are set by the organization’s board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization’s structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited, and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority regarding business administration. Typically, responsibilities include being an active decision-maker on business strategy and other key policy issues, leader, manager, and executor. The communicator role can involve speaking to the press and to the public, as well as to the organization’s management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. The CEO is tasked with implementing the goals, targets and strategic objectives as determined by the board of directors.
- These individuals can often conceal their ruthlessness and antisocial behavior behind a facade of charm and eloquence.
- SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has carried astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station, and the Super Heavy Starship system will eventually carry a spacecraft designed for rapid transportation between cities on Earth and travel to the Moon and Mars.
- The CEO, who can also hold the position of company president or chairman of the board of directors, is expected to regularly keep the board informed of corporate affairs.
- A CEO’s role varies from one company to another depending on the company’s size, culture, and corporate structure.
Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 with the mission of contributing to society by making tools for the mind that advance humankind. While CEO of Apple, the company developed breakthrough products such as the Macintosh computer, iPhone and iPad and revolutionized digital music through iTunes. Apple, however, had its share of financial problems in the 1990s and approached bankruptcy partly due to Mac clones cutting into sales. His ambition and vision transformed Apple into one of the world’s most successful and influential companies by the time of his death in 2011.
CEO Business English
The CFO, who is responsible for the financial discipline of a company along with identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a company, ultimately reports to the CEO. On average, CEOs of the 350 largest companies in the U.S. have earned $24 million in annual salaries. In smaller companies, CEOs often are more hands-on and involved with day-to-day functions.
CEO is a functional title with daily leadership duties and responsibilities, while ownership is a legal designation. Additionally, some business and nonprofit entities can have their top leader fulfill the duties of a CEO yet opt for other titles such as president or executive director. The board oversees the performance of the CEO and can elect to remove or replace the CEO if they feel the executive’s performance isn’t producing the results they want to see.
Examples of a CEO’s Tasks
Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses.
- Tara Swart, a neuroscientist at MIT Sloan School of Management, has suggested that individuals with psychopathic traits thrive in chaotic environments and are aware that others do not.
- The board of directors usually selects the CEO, who is the highest-level person, while a business owner is typically the founder, considered the sole proprietor and entrepreneur who owns most or all the company, and in charge of all business functions.
- They are accountable to the board of directors or stakeholders of the company and are often the public face of the organization.
While the chair of the board does not have the power to overrule the board, the board has the power to overrule the CEO’s decisions. In some cases, the CEO and the chair of the board can be the same person, but many companies split these roles between two people because this gives better governance and oversight of the work of the CEO. Although a CEO’s key responsibilities are generally the same from one organization to the next, exact duties can vary based on several factors, including the size of the company and whether it’s a public or privately held company.
More meanings of CEO
He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The use of the CEO title is not necessarily limited to describing the owner or the head of a company. For example, the CEO of a political party is often entrusted with fundraising, particularly for election campaigns. In this sense, CEO can be used to describe someone who is in charge or has the most influence and power within a particular context. The meaning of CEO in slang can vary depending on the person, the situation, and the social or cultural context. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘CEO.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
In some countries, there is a dual board system with two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes (selected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairperson presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person.
Popular in Grammar & Usage
A stock’s price could swing up or down based on the market’s perception of the new CEO’s ability to lead the company, for example. Other factors to consider when investing in a stock that’s undergoing a management change include the incoming CEO’s agenda; whether there might be a shift in corporate strategy for the worse; and how well the company’s C-suite is managing the transition phase. While CEOs manage general operations, CFOs focus specifically on financial matters. A CFO analyzes a company’s financial strengths and makes recommendations to improve financial weaknesses.
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
Broadly speaking, a chief executive officer’s primary responsibilities include making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and corporate operations. In many cases, the chief executive officer serves as the public face of the company. In the United States, and in business, the executive officers are usually the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer (CEO) being the best-known type.
British Dictionary definitions for CEO
In large corporations, CEOs typically deal only with very high-level strategic decisions and those that direct the company’s overall growth. Specifically, they may look at how capital is allocated across the firm, or how to build teams to succeed. There are other C-suite positions with titles such as chief digital officer, chief data officer and chief marketing officer, but the exact titles and roles vary from company to company. For example, a healthcare organization would require a chief medical officer, and cutting-edge technology companies often employ a chief innovation officer.