CEO – Chief Executive Officer

What is a Chief Executive Officer – CEO?

CEO is an abbreviation and stands for Chief Executive Officer, which means “main management or managing board member”. Equivalent terms to CEO are managing director, board member, chairman, general director or authorized signatory managing director.

What is the difference between Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director?

A German company can have several managing directors who manage the company. In English-speaking countries, however, the term CEO refers to the main management, i.e. the highest level of responsibility in a company. The term CEO has no legal relevance in German.

Why is the abbreviation Chief Executive Officer used?

Due to the strong increase in globalization and internationalization of companies, terms such as CEO have also become widespread in German. This abbreviation is therefore often used due to its brevity and ease of understanding in discussions with third parties.

What is a managing director?

Managing directors are the legal representatives and responsible managers of a company. However, it should be noted that managing directors do not also have to be shareholders. They represent the company through their legal actions.

Definition of Chief Executive Officer – CEOs

The task of a managing director is to handle all business relating to the company. The tasks can also be divided between several managing directors. For example, one managing director can take on the commercial management and another managing director the technical management.

The management also represents the company externally. The exact powers it has depend on the company’s legal form.

In a stock corporation, for example, the members of the Management Board are those who have the power to manage the company. Persons on the supervisory board control the management board. In a GmbH, on the other hand, the management is subject to the instructions of the shareholders. As a rule, the managing director is appointed for a certain period of time and receives an employment contract in which the salary is specified.

What is a C-level function?

C-level refers to the chief level, i.e. the executive level in a company. The C-Level thus represents all persons in the management of a company. In addition to CEO – Chief Executive Officer, positions such as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Sales Officer (CSO), Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Chief Operating Officer (COO) are often named. However, a CEO is the final decision-making authority.

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