What job is just below ceo

By Steve Milano Updated March 21, 2022

If one of your career goals is to make it to an executive position, you’ll have a better chance of reaching your goal if you get specific. A college degree, long years of service and experience with a product aren’t enough to qualify you for most executive positions.

Choosing whether you want to work in administration, marketing, finance or another area of a business will help you determine what position you want to achieve and how to get there. Job titles often vary by company, but most businesses use the same basic titles for similar positions, explains the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A review of executive management roles and responsibilities will help you better prepare for these positions.

The top job at many for-profit businesses is the president or chief executive officer. At a small company, this is usually the owner, who has the most product knowledge and built the company. The CEO often focuses on product development and sales, hiring experts to manage functions such as finance, marketing and human resources.

At larger companies, the president usually oversees the executive team, hiring experts to manage all specific functions. This executive might have limited product knowledge, but knows how to coordinate the various functions of a business so they know the organization’s goals and work together to achieve them.

This person is often the face of the organization and helps set big-picture goals and objectives. Many presidents and CEOs have an advanced degree in finance or administration and come up through the management ranks, often serving at chief financial officers or chief operating officers.

The chief operating officer, or COO, of a business is a hands-on administrator who works closely with each department to keep the company profitable. The COO approves and audits departmental budgets and operating plans, using his expertise to evaluate and make suggestions for better performance. A COO might have little or no product knowledge, because his duties are to run the company, not increase market share or sales.

The chief financial officer of an organization manages the company’s fiscal operations. He helps set budgets; analyze prices and profit margins; keep costs under control; handle investments; oversee tax issues; and manage staff who perform bookkeeping and accounting tasks. The CFO is responsible for helping project quarterly and year-end revenues, expenses, profits and losses. CFOs often have an accounting or finance degree and might be certified public accountants.

Executive roles in a company include department heads, who often receive the titles of vice president or director, according to Indeed.com. In many companies, you can rise to an executive position by starting as a coordinator, who serves a manager, then moving up to manager. A director sets the direction of a department or function; a manager helps execute the director’s vision; and a coordinator handles administrative tasks for a manager.

Marketing, finance, advertising, public relations, human resources, IT and sales departments often have directors with different executive titles and roles. These positions sometimes use the title “chief” instead. For example, you might see director of marketing, vice president of marketing or a chief marketing officer.

Many nonprofit organizations use the title executive director to refer to their top position. Whether it’s at a nonprofit or for-profit business, an executive director often serves a board of directors. The executive director position often performs the same functions as a president or CEO, but must get approval for large projects from the board.

C-level jobs, also known as C-suite jobs, refer to high-ranking executive titles with the "C" standing for chief. Corporate executives in C-level positions are the most powerful and influential people in an organization. They make more important decisions, have a more demanding workload, and thus have high salaries.

C-level jobs (the highest ranking roles at an organization) are the top corporate executive positions in a company. They are the leadership team of the organization.

C-level positions are available across all industries, and the skills and experience required from these executives can vary by industry.

However, nearly all corporate executive jobs require leadership and recruiting skills, along with the ability to develop and implement a strategic vision to support the organization's goals.

With the advent of the internet and the burgeoning start-up world, new C-level positions have proliferated. Companies now hire for roles such as chief experience officer, for example, responsible for the user's experience with the site, app, or product, and for chief privacy officer, in charge of protecting user and corporate data.

Although there may be more job titles in the C-level now, the three most common positions across all industries remain the same:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO): The CEO is responsible for the overall path of the company. A CEO will be praised (and likely receive additional compensation) when the company is successful, and also held responsible if there are failures or setbacks.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO): The CFO oversees the company's financials. Along with budgeting, accounting, and reporting, this role can also involve forecasting and investing.

Chief Operations Officer (COO): The COO is in charge of day-to-day operations at the company, and often oversees the human resources department.

Here's a list of sample corporate-level job titles with a description of the position.

CAO (Chief Accounting Officer): Not all companies have them, but CAOs oversee all day-to-day accounting activities. Corporate accounting can be complex and CAOs make sure that accounts, financial statements, and systems for controlling costs operate smoothly. The CAO usually reports to the CEO and the board of directors.
CEO (Chief Executive Officer): The CEO is the highest-level member of the C-suite, responsible for hiring (and firing) all other executives. A company flourishes or flounders based on the merits of its CEO, who is also typically the face of the company.

CDO (Chief Diversity Officer): A chief diversity officer is the main architect of a company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
CFO (Chief Financial Officer): A CFO is the most senior executive in the finance department and runs the company's financial functions. This may include credit, budgeting, insurance, and taxes. The CFO also oversees the treasurer and financial controller who handle daily operations.
CISO (Chief Information Security Officer): A chief information security officer is a senior executive who manages and maintains a company's vision, strategy, and program to protect its information and technologies. Duties include establishing policies related to security, overseeing compliance with regulations, and ensuring data and information privacy.

CIO (Chief Information Officer): A Chief Information Officer is an executive role in charge of information technology and the computer systems needed to support a company in achieving its goals. In large businesses, a CIO will delegate management of the day-to-day IT operations to a deputy and use a team to manage specific IT areas.
CMO (Chief Marketing Officer): A Chief Marketing Officer manages the development and execution of a company's advertising and marketing, tasked with increasing sales by using research on pricing, competitive analysis, market research, marketing communications, advertising, and PR.

COO (Chief Operating Officer): A Chief Operating Officer (or Chief Operations Officer) handles the day-to-day administration and operation of a business. Depending on the company's needs, this role can vary greatly.
CPO (Chief People Officer): A Chief People Officer is responsible for a company’s talent strategy and corporate-culture initiatives.
CPO (Chief Procurement Officer): A Chief Procurement Officer oversees the management of the company's acquisition programs in terms of contracting services and purchasing supplies, equipment, services, and materials.

CPO (Chief Product Officer): A Chief Product Officer (or Chief Production Officer) is an alternative name for the head of product management. This executive oversees a company's product-related activities and reports to the CEO.
CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer): A Chief Sustainability Officer helps organizations ensure that business practices are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.
CTO (Chief Technology Officer): A Chief Technology Officer oversees a company's technology and works to ensure that technology-related decisions align with business goals.