Executive, Senior management or Executive management is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by authority of the board of directors and/or the shareholders. There are most often higher levels of responsibility, such as a board of directors and those who own the company (shareholders), but they focus on managing the senior or executive management instead of the day-to-day activities of the business. In Project Management, senior management is responsible for authorizing the funding of projects.
They are sometimes referred to, within corporations, as executive management, top management, upper management, higher management, or simply seniors.
The chief communications officer or CCO is a job title for the head of communications, public relations, social media and/or public affairs within an organization. Most typically, the CCO reports to the chief executive officer (CEO) of a corporate entity or president of an operating unit. The CCO may be a member of the executive board of the organization or business unit, but this is dependent on the type of organization.
The CCO of a company is the corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the communications risks and opportunities of a business, both internally and externally. This executive is typically responsible for communications to a wide range of stakeholders, including but not limited to employees, shareholders, media,bloggers, business influentials, the press, the community and the public. Typically, the CCO may partner with others in the organization to communicate with investors, analysts, customers and company Board members. Most organizations will rely on the CCO to advise and participate in decisions that may impact the ongoing reputation of the firm.
Qualifications of the CCO typically include communications experience with multiple stakeholder groups. Early experience may include journalism, work in a public relations agency or an MBA-type background in strategy or business development. In many cases, the CCO will need to assume responsibility for plans and outcomes that are the result of actions by persons throughout the organization. Korn/Ferry’s Corporate Affairs Center of Expertise conducted a study of CCOs at 67 Fortune 200 companies in order to develop a current profile of the individuals who run the communications function at major global organizations. The survey reviewed how these executives are compensated, the size and scope of their responsibility and where they reside organizationally.
The 2010 January/February Harvard Business Review’s “Rethinking Marketing” [2] outlines a paradigm shift in the role of CCO. One where a CCO’s focus should be less on building brands and more on cultivating relationships through increasing customer interaction.
Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the chief executive officer to align the company, internally and externally, with their strategic vision. The core duty of a CEO is to facilitate business outside of the company while guiding employees and other executive officers towards a central objective. The size and sector of the company will dictate the secondary responsibilities. A CEO must have a balance of internal and external initiatives to build a sustainable company.
* For corporations, the CEO primarily coordinates external initiatives at a high level. As there are many other c-level executives (e.g. marketing, information, technical, financial etc.), seldom do corporate CEOs have low-level functions.
* For emerging entrepreneurs, their acting position as a CEO is much different than that on the corporate level. As oftentimes other c-level executives are not incorporated in small operations, it is the duty of the CEO (and sometimes founder) to assume those positions.
* Mid-sized companies borrow from corporate and entrepreneurial CEO responsibilities. There will not be all c-level positions available so the CEO must compensate for gaps either through delegating or assuming additional responsibility.
CEO
DEFINITION – CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is a top-ranking corporate position, responsible for overseeing operations. Often the company’s President, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board and board members.
As a rule, the CEO is the most important spokesperson for the company and is responsible for quarterly results. The CEO is also, typically, the best paid member of the company.
Top executive responsible for a firm’s overall operations and performance. He or she is the leader of the firm, serves as the main link between the board of directors (the board) and the firm’s various parts or levels, and is held solely responsible for the firm’s success or failure. One of the major duties of a CEO is to maintain and implement corporate policy, as established by the board. Also called President or managing director, he or she may also be the chairman (or chairperson) of the board.
The highest ranking executive in a company whose main responsibilities include developing and implementing high-level strategies, 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 the corporate operations. The CEO will often have a position on the board, and in some cases is even the chair.
Investopedia Says:
There are various other titles for the position of CEO including president and executive or managing director. The role of the CEO will vary from one company to another depending on its size and organization. In smaller companies, the CEO will often have a much more hands-on role in the company, making a lot of the business decisions, even lower-level ones such as the hiring of staff. However, in larger companies, the CEO will often deal with only the higher-level strategy of the company and directing its overall growth, with most other tasks deligated to managers and departments.
Officer who has ultimate management responsibility for an organization. The CEO reports directly to a Board of Directors, which is accountable to the company’s owners. The CEO appoints other managers, including a president, to assist in carrying out the responsibilities of the organization. The CEO can also have the title CEO/President if the responsibilities of both positions are combined.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO) or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization. An individual appointed as CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency reports to the board of directors.
Structure
Typically, a CEO has several subordinate executives, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities.
Common associates include a Chief Communications Officer (CCO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Legal Officer(CLO), Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Creative Officer (CCO), Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Chief Audit Executive (CAE), Chief diversity officer (CDO), and a director, or Vice-President of Human Resources.
[edit] CEO search firms
According to the Association of Executive Search Consultants, 60% of public company CEOs are recruited through executive search firms.
The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) is the worldwide professional body representing the retained executive search industry. Founded in 1959[1] in the United States, it is today a global organization with its international headquarters in New York City, and a European office in Brussels.
Structure and role
The AESC’s membership of over 300 firms worldwide represents the highest level of retained executive search consulting. Members of the AESC ascribe to a strict Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Guidelines. AESC member retained executive search firms can be found in 72 countries, in each region of the world. When combined, it is estimated that AESC member search firms carry out over 50,000 executive search assignments per annum.
The AESC organizes a number of events every year, including tele-seminars, regional conferences and a Researchers and Associates Summit. The Association has a number of committees to address issues within the industry, such as Government Relations[citation needed], Ethics and Professional Practices. These bodies are elected annually.
In addition to promoting and maintaining professional and ethical standards, the AESC provides executive recruitment training through its Campus program. The AESC also serves to broaden public understanding of retained executive search consulting and has a program for corporations using or planning to use the services of a retained search firm. This free service, CorporateConnect, offers resources on partnering with search firms and also puts corporate recruiters in touch with the AESC membership.
The Association also offers BlueSteps.com, an online career management service for senior executives earning a minimum of USD 150k (or the regional equivalent). BlueSteps provides a link between job-seeking executives and AESC’s member search firms.
Chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer (COO) is a corporate officer responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the corporation and for operations management (OM). The COO is one of the highest-ranking members of an organization’s senior management, monitoring the daily operations of the company and reporting to the board of directors and the top executive officer, usually the chief executive officer (CEO). The COO is usually an executive or senior officer.
The focus of the COO is on operations management, which means he or she is responsible for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm’s products/services. The duties of the COO may reside in certain organizations with a vice president of operations. The COO is responsible for ensuring that business operations are efficient and effective and that proper management of resources, distribution of goods and services to customers, and analysis of queue systems is done.
COOs ideally need to have domain knowledge of the business & industry, understand modern management theories (Total Quality Management, Kaizen), employ process/quality improvement techniques (business process reengineering, Six Sigma) and sometimes quality process standards if required by customers or desired by the company (ISO 9001).
Functions of a C.O.O.:
1. Marshal limited resources as set out by the chief executive officer and the board of directors to the most productive uses with the aim of creating maximum value for the company’s stakeholders.
2. Lead by developing and cascading the organizations strategy/mission statement to the lower ranking staff, and implementing appropriate rewards/recognition and coaching/corrective practices to align personnel with company goals.
3. Plan by prioritizing customer, employee and organizational requirements
4. Maintaining and monitoring staffing, levels, Knowledge-Skills-Attributes (KSA), expectations and motivation to fulfill organizational requirements
5. Drive performance measures for the measurement of an operation’s performance and consideration of efficiency versus effectiveness, often in the form of dashboards convenient for review of high level key indicators.
Chief analytics officer
Chief analytics officer (CAO) is a job title for the senior manager responsible for the analysis of data within an organization, such as a listed company or an educational institution. The CAO often reports to the chief executive officer.
This position, along with that of chief information officer has risen to prominence due to the rise in information technology and data acquisition. The two positions are similar in that both deal with information, but the CIO focuses on the infrastructure required for maintaining and communicating information while the CAO focuses on the infrastructure required for generating and analyzing information. A similar position is that of the chief data officer (CDO); while the CDO focuses on data processing and maintenance, the CAO focuses on providing input into operational decisions on the basis of the analysis. As such, the CAO requires experience in statistical analysis and marketing, finance, or operations. The CAO may be a member of the board of directors of the organization, but this is dependent on the type of organization.
No specific qualification is typical of CAOs in general. Many have advanced degrees in statistics, economics, econometrics, or marketing, but this is by no means universal. Many were analysts in the past.
Chief Information Officer
(Chief Information Officer) The executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. All systems design, development and datacenter operations fall under CIO jurisdiction. CIOs have demanding jobs as information systems in an organization are often taken for granted until something breaks down. The CIO is responsible for explaining to executive management the complex nightmare this industry has gotten itself into over the past 40 years and why equipment must be constantly retrofitted or replaced. Justifying new expenditures can be a difficult part of the job.
Increasingly, CIOs are involved in creating business and e-business opportunities through information technology. Collaborating with other executives, CIOs are often working at the core of business development within the organization. Also known as “MIS Director.” See salary survey.
This is the senior manager who is responsible for overseeing the financial activities of an entire company. This includes signing checks, monitoring cash flow, and financial planning.
Financial & Investment Dictionary:
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Executive officer who is responsible for handling funds, signing checks, keeping financial records, and financial planning for a corporation. He or she typically has the title of vice president-finance or financial vice president in large corporations, that of treasurer or controller (also spelled comptroller) in smaller companies. Since many state laws require that a corporation have a treasurer, that title is often combined with one or more of the other financial titles.
The controllership function requires an experienced accountant to direct internal accounting programs, including cost accounting, systems and procedures, data processing, acquisitions analysis, and financial planning. The controller may also have internal audit responsibilities.
The treasury function is concerned with the receipt, custody, investment, and disbursement of corporate funds and for borrowings and the maintenance of a market for the company’s securities.
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