In business, what does the abbreviation CEO stand for?

In business, CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer. The CEO is generally the highest-ranking executive responsible for an organisation's overall direction, performance, and major decisions.

A CEO typically works with a board of directors, which represents the owners or shareholders in a company. The exact division of responsibilities varies: in some companies, the CEO also serves as board chair, while in others those roles are deliberately separated. CEOs may set strategy, allocate resources, recruit senior leaders, and communicate with investors, employees, customers, and regulators.

CEO does not mean Chief Enterprise Officer, Corporate Executive Officer, or Chief Economic Officer. Titles can differ across countries and organisations; for example, a managing director may perform a similar top executive role in some businesses. The abbreviation is used far beyond publicly traded corporations, including charities, universities, technology companies, and start-ups.