
In the case of a partnership, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a sole proprietorship, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. The definition varies for instance, the California Corporate Disclosure Act defines "executive officers" as the five most highly compensated officers not also sitting on the board of directors. 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. In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the executive committee (the division/subsidiary heads and C-level officers that report directly to the CEO). The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. This allows for clear lines of authority. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairman presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. 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). For example, the CEO of a political party is often entrusted with fundraising, particularly for election campaigns. The use of the CEO title is not necessarily limited to describing the owner or the head of a company. The CEO is the person who is ultimately accountable for a company's business decisions, including those in operations, marketing, business development, finance, human resources, etc. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day operations. The CEO is tasked with implementing the goals, targets and strategic objectives as determined by the board of directors.Īs an executive officer of the company, the CEO reports the status of the business to the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization.

The communicator role can involve speaking to the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as to the organization's management and employees the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy.

Typically, responsibilities include being an active decision-maker on business strategy and other key policy issues, leader, manager, and executor. They can be far-reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority regarding business administration. 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.

CEOs are also frequently assigned the role of main manager of the organization and the highest-ranking officer in the C-suite. In the non-profit and government sector, CEOs typically aim at achieving outcomes related to the organization's mission, usually provided by legislation.

The CEO of a corporation or company typically reports to the board of directors and is charged with maximizing the value of the business, which may include maximizing the share price, market share, revenues or another element. CEOs find roles in a range of organizations, including public and private corporations, non-profit organizations and even some government organizations (notably state-owned enterprises). For other uses, see Chief executive (disambiguation) and CEO (disambiguation).Ī chief executive officer ( CEO), also known as a central executive officer ( CEO), chief administrator officer ( CAO), or just chief executive ( CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization – especially an independent legal entity such as a company or nonprofit institution. "Chief executive" and "CEO" redirect here.
