What does a CEO do?
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the person who holds the highest position in the hierarchy of an organization. You have the responsibility to manage the company and make the right decisions for the good of your company.
Role of the Executive Director
In companies, the CEO is the person with the most responsibility. Unlike a CFO (Chief Financial Officer), who is exclusively responsible for the financial management of the company, the CEO brings his point of view and experience to all activities (production, sales, services, human resources, etc.). He must lead the company’s teams, monitoring results and ensuring that every resource is used effectively and in a way that is beneficial to the company.
Responsibilities of the Executive Director
In other words, the CEO is the highest-ranking member of an organization’s management team. That’s why he has so many responsibilities:
- Leadership : The CEO must lead the company and provide a clear vision for the future. It must establish objectives and strategies that allow the organization to reach its full potential. The CEO’s job is to lead the company and give it the best possible vision for the future. It must also set different objectives and develop strategies that lead the organization to reach its maximum potential.
- Management : The General Manager must also have good communication skills and a great capacity for adaptation to ensure the correct implementation of the company’s strategic and operational plans. You must also have management skills to effectively manage your team.
- Investor Relations : The CEO must legally represent the company, but also chair and oversee the Board of Directors and be accountable to the shareholders, or to the parent company in the case of a subsidiary. That’s why relationships with different investors, for which the CEO is responsible, are so important. It must ensure that all deals are carried out transparently and effectively.
- Social Responsibility: The social responsibility of the Director General is essential, as it is his duty to ensure that every decision is made in accordance with the rules of the trade, and that each operation is carried out correctly and with full knowledge of the potential impact it will have.
- Innovation : The role of the CEO is also to promote innovation within the company, and to ensure that new technologies and techniques are used, in order to keep the company in good standing. Innovation allows a company to stand out from its competitors.
CEO Challenges
Being the CEO of a company is a complicated task, as many challenges stand in your way.
- Resource Management: One of the CEO’s biggest challenges is managing the company’s resources because he has to ensure that the company uses its resources quickly and efficiently.
- Competitiveness : Competition in the market is tough, and the CEO must ensure that the company remains in a strong position. You must be aware of the latest trends and technologies and ensure that the company is constantly innovating to maintain its position against its rivals.
- Constant change: The business world is constantly evolving, and the CEO must be prepared to face any event and every change that comes his way.
- Economic and Financial Challenges: The CEO must also be prepared to face economic and financial challenges that may arise. You must be able to make quick and effective decisions in sensitive and complex situations and ensure that the company is prepared to cope in any situation.
- Talent Management : The CEO delegates tasks to the company’s managers and employees and analyzes the business on an ongoing basis. It’s important for the CEO to show the ability to hire and keep employees with maximum potential. It is the general reference point for your employees and for the brand image of the company you manage. In addition, a company director must be available at all times, whether for his customers, employees or collaborators.
In short, the CEO runs a company. It is he who establishes the company’s growth and development strategies, from an accounting, financial, management and technical point of view. He is in charge of all operations and sets the long and short term direction.
Being a CEO means being able to lead, which is very different from being a manager. It must be able to intervene in all areas of activity: commercial, technical, administrative and financial. Its objective is economic profitability or the objective set by the government.