Strategic management is arguably the most important job of the CEO. They make sure the day-to-day actions of the company line up with its overall mission.

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the leader and public face of an organisation. They are the highest position of authority in the chain of command, but are held accountable by the Board of Directors. The role of a CEO in a non-profit is more varied and differs slightly from the standard CEO of a company.

Your Board members lead jam-packed lives and only have time for the most pressing and serious issues when they meet. This is why an executive committee is needed to meet and tackle the high-level issues, either in emergencies or on a day-to-day basis. The executive committee is an elected, elite group of directors that are able to meet and make decisions at short notice. The executive committee is made up of the C-Suite of the board as well as other executive managers that may not be regularly at board meetings. 

Every company has a management team to make sure things run according to plan. Public companies must have a Board of directors which is led by a Chairman. Most companies also have a Chief Executive Officer (or CEO). In many cases, both roles are performed by the same person, but the duties of these different titles vary.

The difference between the Chairman and the CEO role can be summed up briefly as: the CEO runs the company, while the Chairman evaluates the company’s performance.

However, there are more key differences between these roles and what they bring to an organisation.