What Is A CEO And What Are Functions In The Company?

CEO And What Are Functions In The Company : When we speak of Chief Executive Officer, better known as CEO, we are referring to a term that is used above all in large Anglo-Saxon multinationals and that has been firmly installed in Spain to replace that of Executive Director or Executive President.

This figure refers to one of the positions of greatest responsibility and management of the company that makes important decisions and directs with great precision the purpose, vision, and mission of said company on a daily basis through short-term strategies, but above all through the medium and long term (investments, product diversification…); in addition to dealing with internal issues of the organization such as the creation of new processes and policies or the organizational culture.

Although the CEO or Executive Director occupies a position of great responsibility, he is usually not at the top of the business organization chart, but rather the head, and the person who is in charge of the corporate organization is the president or the board of directors. 

In this article, we are going to learn in-depth everything related to the figure of the CEO of the company: functions, skills, necessary studies… with the participation of Fernando Doral, professor of the MBA at the School of Business and Management – ENyD, who has held managerial positions such as General Manager or Director of Marketing and Communication, among others.

We explain the keys of the CEO in the organization!

CEO Roles

The CEO of the company must perform several functions that require a high degree of responsibility and commitment, both with himself and with the entity. Even so, the tasks to be performed vary depending on the composition of the company, whether he has a president or not, whether he is active or not, etc.

For example, in large companies, it is normal for this figure to be in charge of a work team and usually have the help of the 

• Director of Finance (CFO),
• Director of Marketing (CMO),
• Director of Operations (COO) or the
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

However, although the Chief Executive Officer of a company usually has different functions depending on the structure of each organization, they usually tend to share some common ones such as:

• CEO studiosOrganize and coordinate: Directs the directors of the different departments that the company has
• Control and plan: Design the necessary strategies to achieve the company’s objectives. Prepare a roadmap and review its correct compliance
• Manage the brand: In order to make the company grow, you must properly manage your brand through knowledge of the company’s culture and knowing how to take advantage of its corporate image.
• Help the finance department: You will need to properly use company budgets to manage assets, and bring benefits, either looking for investors or being aware of possible financial opportunities.
• Direct employees: Employees must be incentivized and motivated to generate a commitment to the organization. He will also be in charge of retaining talent and forming a united and committed work group.
• Inform: Communicate the objectives and achievements of the company to the shareholders.
• Take care of relationships: You must maintain good relationships with other leading companies in the sector, as well as with investors and shareholders.

Skills

We have already seen the main functions that a CEO must carry out, but they are useless if this person does not have their own skills that are needed to carry out this job:

Being a good communicator:

You cannot be a good leader if you do not have communication skills. It is not enough to have good ideas, but you also have to know how to transmit them, whether in meetings, calls…

Be honest:

Transparency at the level of business leadership is essential to ensure that the team works in the same direction and with motivation. The CEO has to demonstrate with actions what he says with words, be clear and honest.

Teamwork: All workers must understand the role of this figure in the company so that they know what the added value is that it brings to the company. In addition, the Executive Director himself must also understand that the team comes first and must strive to work together with supervisors and subordinates to achieve common goals.

Work for the long haul:

Because this job position is characterized by small projects to pull off on a daily basis, it’s easy to lose the long-term perspective. Therefore, the CEO can never forget what the real goal is.

Value the customer:

No CEO can ignore that the center of all his work is the customer, so he has to develop the ability to put himself in his shoes and know how to analyze and understand his habits, thoughts, and behaviors to be action-oriented to offer the best product or service ever.

Be responsible:

A good Chief Executive Officer has to commit to the company, meet deadlines, and take responsibility when they make mistakes. Blaming others is not an option.

Passion and curiosity:

Because this figure has a demanding workload, the love for what he does should be the engine that drives him to continue. In addition, a good CEO has to develop his cultural curiosity and continue to constantly learn so as not to become outdated.

Willingness to undertake:

Creativity, productivity, efficiency, and company culture are the necessary ingredients to improve work systems and maintain the desire to undertake. For this reason, the CEO must always look for original solutions to any problem and constantly consider different approaches.

In addition to all this, the Executive Director must have some essential characteristics such as: finding and taking advantage of opportunities; innovating and knowing how to adapt to changes easily without leaving the proposed objective; networking effectively; or having leadership skills and ambition.