A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking executive in a company, and their primary responsibilities include making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and corporate operations. A CEO often has a position on the board; in some cases, she or he is even the chair.
There are various other titles for CEOs including managing director, president, and executive. The role of a CEO varies from one company to another depending on the company’s size and overall structure. In relatively small companies, the CEO often has a much more hands-on role in the company, making a lot of the business decisions, including lower-level ones, such as the hiring of staff. However, in larger companies, the CEO typically deals with only the higher-level company strategy and directing its overall growth, as most other tasks are delegated to other managers or various departments.
CEOs set the tone and the vision for their organization, and as a result, the CEOs of large corporations sometimes rise to levels of fame. For example, Mark Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook Inc.(FB) is a household name. Similarly, Steve Jobs, founder, and CEO of Apple became so notorious for his role in the company that after his death in 2011, numerous films and documentaries were made about him.