What’s a CEO?

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The CEO is the highest position in a company or on a board of directors, and is often appointed rather than elected. Small businesses have a single senior executive and a vice president, while larger companies may have several CEOs. The CEO’s role is to oversee the company, delegate work, and allow other employees to make executive decisions. A business management degree is helpful for those interested in becoming a CEO.

CEO is the chief executive officer and is often the title of a person who holds the highest position in a company or on a board of directors. A related title is president, which can be used instead, but often suggests a level of democracy that is not common in most companies. In the sense of a company, workers in most cases do not choose a president, so using the title of CEO makes more sense.

Some large companies may actually have several CEOs, or at least one for each department. Small businesses and small non-profit agencies usually have a single senior executive and a vice president who takes over when needed, or several vice presidents simply called “executives.”

How a person becomes a CEO is very individualized, depending on the size of the company, the person’s background and education, and the type of company. Often, when starting a company, the founder of the company acts as its leader. Later, if the company is profitable, the founder may recognize that he is not the best person to be in charge, or may wish to pursue other career goals and hire someone to run the company.

On boards of directors, both for-profit and non-profit, a chief executive officer can be elected from a few deserving candidates. Again, the founder of a company may be the primary choice, but many times, especially when the company produces a product, the inventor who founds the company may have no interest in running it. He might much prefer someone with great business acumen to handle the day-to-day details of being “the boss.

In non-profit groups, limits may be set on how many terms someone can serve as CEO or president of a company. This is not always the case and the determination of who is the leader is not always by election. Sometimes, when a nonprofit organization stays small, a small board consisting of a CEO, secretary, treasurer, or chief financial officer (CFO), and a few other board members rotate the position.

Being a CEO can mean being responsible for overseeing several branches of a company or just helping run small board meetings and overseeing small organizations. This person can be present at shareholder meetings, sign payslips and play an active role in managing the company and setting goals.

The talented CEO knows the greatest power they can possess is to delegate, share work, and allow other employees to have the opportunity to make executive decisions and grow with the company. The leader who never delegates is likely to be overworked, especially in a large company. Those interested in running companies are more likely to achieve their goal by pursuing business management degrees, especially advanced degrees. Management skills are the hallmark of the talented CEO as he leads the company to success.




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