The Role of the CEO: Just a Senior Manager with a Fancier Title

The title "Chief Executive Officer" (CEO) conjures images of power, authority, and visionary leadership. However, the role of a CEO, especially in large, publicly traded companies, is just an elevated form of senior management—distinguished more by title than by function. One could argue that a CEO is simply a senior-level manager with a more prestigious sounding title unless the CEO happens to own the company.

CEOs as High-Level Managers

A CEO’s responsibilities align with the core principles of management, which include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These are the same functions expected of any senior manager, whether overseeing a department or leading an entire company. The primary difference lies in scale: while senior managers may focus on specific divisions or teams, CEOs manage the whole organization, ensuring that every department aligns with the company’s broader goals and strategies.

Despite the grandeur often associated with the role, CEOs are still accountable to others—usually a board of directors in public companies or the owner(s) in private companies. This means that while they may have the final say on key business decisions, they must also ensure those decisions align with the expectations of investors, shareholders, and other stakeholders. In this sense, a CEO can be seen as an agent of the company's owners, rather than an autonomous decision maker.

Decision-Making Authority

Like other senior managers, CEOs are tasked with navigating complex decisions. However, their authority is sometimes less absolute than the title implies. A senior manager may answer to the CEO, but the CEO answers to the board. Many CEOs must have their strategic decisions or large capital expenditures approved by the board, limiting their assumed autonomy.

In this context, the job of a CEO mirrors the experience of any senior manager who must balance operational challenges with the demands of upper management. The CEO’s high-profile position adds a layer of visibility—and responsibility. As a result, the true role of a CEO is often to take the heat for failures and give credit to the team for successes, rather than to make every decision themselves.

CEOs Who Own the Company

The dynamic changes drastically when the CEO owns the company. In such cases, the CEO’s authority is unchallenged. They are the board, the owners, and the ultimate decision-makers. A CEO owner of the company holds more power than a CEO of a publicly traded firm, as their decisions are not subject to external approval in the same way.

This distinction is crucial. A CEO who is also the owner can afford to be bold, visionary, or even eccentric, however, a CEO of a public company often navigates through a more conservative landscape, balancing stakeholder interests. In the case of CEO-owner, the title reflects genuine entrepreneurial leadership, and the job goes far beyond the typical duties of senior management.

In essence, the title of CEO carries prestige, however, in practical terms, a CEO is just a senior manager with greater visibility and a larger scope of influence—unless, of course, they own the company. For CEOs of public companies, the job is less about absolute power and more about balancing the interests of various stakeholders while guiding the company toward success and delivering financial gains to the stakeholders. Whether they are managing the entire organization or operating as an owner-leader, the CEO role remains, at its core, about management—just with a fancier title.