Chief Executive Officer

Do you really want to be a Chief Executive Officer? You need to be sure you really want such a position with so many responsibilities.  Many people are interested in climbing this pole but really don't have much of an idea of what it really takes to operate effectively when they get there. At premiercallcentre.co.uk UK's national leader in Call Centres can help you with Chief Executive Officer; we cover all aspects of this industry and can help your company succeed whatever task it is.

What is a Chief Executive Officer?

A chief executive officer (CEO) or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators in charge of total management. An individual selected as president and CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency, reports to the board of directors.

The Dictionary of Business Terms defines it as follows: “The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the officer who has ultimate management responsibility for an organization. The CEO reports directly to the Board of Directors [and] appoints other managers…to assist in carrying out the responsibilities of the organization.”

Much of the current writings around non-profit governance and board roles refer to the chief staff officer as CEO, such as “The Board is responsible to hire or appoint the CEO”. That usage can be attributed somewhat to consistency (gets beyond the variety of titles in use) and expediency (quick and easy), however it also no doubt reflects current trends in practice and governance models.

The CEO Responsibilities

The typical roles and general responsibilities of a non-profit association CEO are:

Leader

•     Advises the Board
•     Advocates / promotes organization and stakeholder change related to organization mission
•     Supports motivation of employees in organization products/programs and operations

Visionary / Information Bearer

•     Ensures staff and Board have sufficient and up-to-date information
•     Looks to the future for change opportunities
•     Interfaces between Board and employees
•     Interfaces between organization and community

Decision Maker

•     Formulates policies and planning recommendations to the Board
•     Decides or guides courses of action in operations by staff

Manager

•     Oversees operations of organization
•     Implements plans
•     Manages human resources of organization
•     Manages financial and physical resources

Board Developer

•     Assists in the selection and evaluation of board members
•     Makes recommendations, supports Board during orientation and self-evaluation
•     Supports Board's evaluation of Chief Executive

CEO Duties

The specific duties of an association CEO will vary based on the type of organization and the governance model in use by the organization. The following list covers some of the major functions typically addressed by job descriptions of association CEOs:

1.  Provide leadership in the development of the association's statement of vision, mission, and goals, and the corresponding strategies, plans, and budgets to achieve them;

2.  Ensure the development of priority plans, performance measurements, management controls, and critical success factors;

3.  Review approved plans and budgets as part of the annual planning and budgeting cycle and present recommendations to the board of directors and/or the appropriate committee;

4.  Develop and provide appropriate policy recommendations for consideration by the board;

5.  Ensure that an annual plan and budget are prepared for and presented to the board of directors;

6.  Propose agendas for the board of directors reflecting issues, opportunities, and priorities;

7.  Present a written report to all board meetings;

8.  Develop and maintain an effective staff organization which provides appropriate policy and program recommendations for consideration by the board and its committees, and which delivers services, programs and information beneficial to the members;

9.      Hire, reward, discipline, terminate, and set the remuneration of, all association employees except for him / her, in accordance with policy and/or approved budgets;

10.  Identify, document, and articulate the needs of members to geographic sub-units, committees, and other forums which exist to serve member needs;

11.  Promote collaboration with and among the association's geographic sub-units to address the needs of members and the mission and goals of the association;

12.  Maintain the necessary contacts to keep abreast of emerging issues of significance to the association management profession;

13.  Act as the spokesperson for the association;

14.  Serve as ambassador for the association to relevant organizations internationally;

15.  Perform such other duties as are prescribed in writing from time to time by the board of directors;

Reporting Relationship

Typically the CEO is a non-voting director and officer of the association. In addition, the CEO may be a non-voting ex officio member of all committees, councils, task forces, and other member forums appointed or established by, and accountable to, the board of directors.

With respect to the association’s staff, the CEO is usually the representative of the association as the employer of paid staff and solely responsible for establishing compensation and benefits, and the hiring and release, of the association's employees

International use

In some European Union countries, there are two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes (elected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairman presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. There is a strong parallel here with the structure of government, which tends to separate the political cabinet from the management civil service.

In other parts of the world, such as Asia, it is possible to have two or three CEOs in charge of one corporation. In the UK, many charities and government agencies are headed by a chief executive who is answerable to a board of trustees or board of directors. In the UK, similar to a sizable percentage of public companies in the US, the chair (man) (of the board) in public companies is more senior than the chief executive (who is usually known as the managing director). Most public companies now split the roles of chair and chief executive.

Typical CEO structure

Typically, a CEO has several subordinate executives, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities.

Common associates includes a chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief technical officer (CTO), chief marketing officer (CMO), chief information officer (CIO), chief creative officer (CCO), chief compliance officer (CCO), and a director, or Vice-President of human resources.

Ask premiercallcentre.co.uk to walk you through these criteria’s and to check everything for a position as a CEO.