What is a CEO in a company and what are his/her functions?
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 9:01 am
Speaking of senior positions in a company, one of the main ones we hear about more and more often is that of CEO. But what is a CEO? Essentially, he is the chief executive officer, but he can also have other additional functions. He is, therefore, the main executive of a company, endowed with very broad powers and whose decisions are only responsible to the Board of Directors (BoD) and the owners.
What is a Chief Executive Officer?
To understand what a CEO is, let's start with the meaning of this acronym in English.
The Chief Executive Officer is literally the chief executive , that is, the person who is responsible for managing the company, its processes and performance. The main decisions are his/hers and he/she is the point of reference between the different departments of the company.
It can be the founder himself, as in the case of Steve cambodia whatsapp data Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezoz, but it can also be selected by the owners or the Board of Directors, as in the case of Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple.
In publicly traded companies, shareholders-owners appoint the Board of Directors, which elects the Chairman and the CEO. The latter manages the company's policy, represents the majority of the Board of Directors and is considered the person primarily responsible for the results obtained . The Chairman has a more representative role, while the CEO directly represents the interests of the shareholders.
Although they may often be confused, the general manager and the CEO are not the same person . The general manager is in charge of the other managers or other subjects present in the management. The CEO, on the other hand, is the highest operational position. His role and weight are so important that, often, the decision to change him has important consequences for the company itself, its reputation and its valuation on the stock market and in the market in general.
Duties of the CEO
After understanding what a CEO is, let's see what his or her main functions and responsibilities are , which are many. The CEO makes the decisions that determine the direction of the business and establishes the general objectives. He or she has a very important role since he or she determines the overall vision of the company, so his or her decisions lead to directives for all the company's departments.
In smaller companies, this figure has a more pronounced managerial role, directly making many of the business decisions, including those related to hiring new staff. However, in larger companies, the CEO makes decisions about corporate strategy and overall growth . Minor or more specific decisions are instead delegated to other figures. The CEO's responsibilities and functions within the company can be summarized as follows:
It evaluates the organization based on various criteria and factors, determines how it progresses and how it is organized, and also evaluates the accounting and administrative aspect.
After confronting other managers, he analyzes and proposes strategies to follow to improve, which can be followed in the medium and long term.
It proposes mergers and spin-offs , i.e. operations that can divide the company into different sub-companies. It can also propose a new distribution of shares among the partners. It can also carry out mergers, i.e. merge the company with others after a series of prior agreements and based on specific strategies.
Directs the meeting : in this case, it can be said that he has the task of calling the shareholders' meeting when necessary, proposing the agenda on the topics to be discussed and the objectives to be achieved.
What is a Chief Executive Officer?
To understand what a CEO is, let's start with the meaning of this acronym in English.
The Chief Executive Officer is literally the chief executive , that is, the person who is responsible for managing the company, its processes and performance. The main decisions are his/hers and he/she is the point of reference between the different departments of the company.
It can be the founder himself, as in the case of Steve cambodia whatsapp data Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezoz, but it can also be selected by the owners or the Board of Directors, as in the case of Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple.
In publicly traded companies, shareholders-owners appoint the Board of Directors, which elects the Chairman and the CEO. The latter manages the company's policy, represents the majority of the Board of Directors and is considered the person primarily responsible for the results obtained . The Chairman has a more representative role, while the CEO directly represents the interests of the shareholders.
Although they may often be confused, the general manager and the CEO are not the same person . The general manager is in charge of the other managers or other subjects present in the management. The CEO, on the other hand, is the highest operational position. His role and weight are so important that, often, the decision to change him has important consequences for the company itself, its reputation and its valuation on the stock market and in the market in general.
Duties of the CEO
After understanding what a CEO is, let's see what his or her main functions and responsibilities are , which are many. The CEO makes the decisions that determine the direction of the business and establishes the general objectives. He or she has a very important role since he or she determines the overall vision of the company, so his or her decisions lead to directives for all the company's departments.
In smaller companies, this figure has a more pronounced managerial role, directly making many of the business decisions, including those related to hiring new staff. However, in larger companies, the CEO makes decisions about corporate strategy and overall growth . Minor or more specific decisions are instead delegated to other figures. The CEO's responsibilities and functions within the company can be summarized as follows:
It evaluates the organization based on various criteria and factors, determines how it progresses and how it is organized, and also evaluates the accounting and administrative aspect.
After confronting other managers, he analyzes and proposes strategies to follow to improve, which can be followed in the medium and long term.
It proposes mergers and spin-offs , i.e. operations that can divide the company into different sub-companies. It can also propose a new distribution of shares among the partners. It can also carry out mergers, i.e. merge the company with others after a series of prior agreements and based on specific strategies.
Directs the meeting : in this case, it can be said that he has the task of calling the shareholders' meeting when necessary, proposing the agenda on the topics to be discussed and the objectives to be achieved.