Chief Executive Officer — A Definition
Sunday, February 10th, 2008What does it mean to be a CEO? The Chief Executive Officer of a company or an organization?
This is not a rhetorical question, as I was asked this very real question the other day by a client who has been asked to step into this role by a company’s board of directors following the death of the firm’s CEO. Not an easy task, mind you.
That said, I’ve given the question some serious thought. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
What it means to be a CEO — by David Politis
By the very words that make up the title — Chief Executive Officer – I believe that a CEO is the ultimate executive officer within an organization and the executive to whom all other executives, officers and employees ultimately report to.
Under the guidance and direction of the board of directors, the CEO is the person who sets the overall goals and objectives for the company, as well as the strategies necessary to accomplish such goals and objectives.
In my opinion, the CEO is the person ultimately responsible for coalescing each of the disparate programs, ideas, campaigns and opportunities within an organization into a cohesive plan of attack, as well as the person responsible for marshaling the personnel and resources necessary to successfully win the company’s battles and wars.