The C-Suite are the top executives of a company. As the most influential and high-level members, they are the decision makers and overall leaders who char the course the company must follow. Ultimately, success and failure of a company rests on their shoulders.
There are many a different role in this elite class, including:
- The Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The big boss. The most important, most vital role, nearly every other C-Suite member reports to the CEO. They are the face of the company, responsible for major business strategies, and must constantly fight against a stereotype that they just do what the Chief Financial Officer tells them to.
- The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) oversees the company’s financial strategies, investment strategies, and overall portfolio. As the primary financial decision maker for a company, the CFO typically sits on the board of directors and ensures the company stays afloat and profitable, guiding the rest of the company’s high-level decisions on the bedrock of financial wisdom.
- The Chief Operating Officer (COO). The acronym may sound like a pigeon, but the COO is far more than any pigeon, overseeing the typical daily operations of a business. Typically in command to the CEO, they are in charge of administration, staffing, strategy, recruitment, and more. At times, the COO will take over the roles of a chief human resource office if a company lacks that particular role.
- The Chief Information Officer (CIO) works in the world of programming, project management, coding, and more. A hybrid of many skills, the CIO often oversees research and development, and work as a kind of quality control for new technologies the company wishes to incorporate in order ensure it benefits the company in a way that furthers its strategies and business goals.