Warren Buffett on Bailing Out Financial Institutions and the Role of the CEO

A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization. An individual appointed as a CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency typically reports to the board of directors. In British English, terms often used as synonyms for CEO are managing director (MD) and chief executive (CE). In American English, the title executive director (ED) is sometimes used for non-profit organizations.

The responsibilities of an organization’s CEO (chief executive officer, US) or MD (managing director, UK) are set by the organization’s board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization’s legal structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority.

Typically, the CEO/MD has responsibilities as a director, decision maker, leader, manager and executor. The communicator role can involve the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as the organization’s management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. As a leader of the company, the CEO/MD advises the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO/MD presides over the organization’s day-to-day operations.

In the US the term “chief” is a for-profit title use exclusively in business, the term “executive director” replaces chief in the not-for-profit sector. These terms are mutually exclusive and have legal duties and responsibilities attached to them which are incompatible. Implicit in the use of these titles is that the public not be misled and the general standard regarding their use be consistently applied.

In the UK “Chief Executive” and, much more rarely “Chief Executive Officer”, are used in both business and the charitable sector (not-for-profit sector).[5] The use of the term [director] is now deprecated for senior charity staff, to avoid confusion with the legal duties and responsibilities associated with being a charity director or trustee, which are normally non-executive (unpaid) roles.

Typically, a CEO has several subordinate executives, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities.[6]

Common associates include a chief business development officer (CBDO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief marketing officer (CMO), chief information officer (CIO), chief communications officer (CCO), chief legal officer (CLO), chief technology officer (CTO), chief risk officer (CRO), chief creative officer (CCO), chief compliance officer (CCO), chief audit executive (CAE), chief diversity officer (CDO), or chief human resources officer (CHRO).

Hospitals and healthcare organizations also often include a Chief Medical Officer (CMO), a chief nursing officer (CNO), and a chief medical informatics officer (CMIO).

In the United Kingdom the term ‘director’ is used instead of ‘chief officer’. Associates include the audit executive, business development director, chief executive, compliance director, creative director, director of communications, diversity director, financial director, human resources director, information technology director, legal affairs director, managing director (MD), marketing director, operations director and technical director.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEO

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