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CEO vs President

By CA Harsh KataraCA Harsh Katara

CEO-VS President

Difference Between CEO vs President

To run a successful organization, one needs great leadership who can lead by example. The management is the one who does that, and among them, the top employees of an organization are the CEO and the President. CEO is considered to have the topmost or, let’s say, the highest-ranking in the company. On the other hand, the president can be considered second in charge, and he will be directly reporting below to the CEO. The highest-ranking of the topmost executive in an organization is the CEO of the company (i.e. Chief Executive Officer). Their primary and key responsibilities will be making major company level or, say, the corporate decisions, looking after the overall functions and the operations, and the resources of an organization. The CEO will always act as the key point of communication between the corporate operations and the board of directors. The President, on another hand, is mainly considered as the leader of the company. The relationship between CEO vs President will vary depending upon the structure of the company. The President’s role is loosely defined, and the powers and the authority of the President will vary widely in various companies, and these authorities and the powers can come into practice only by statute or the law.

Head To Head Comparison Between CEO vs President Value (Infographics)

Below is the top 6 difference between CEO vs President

CEO-VS President-info

Key Differences Between CEO vs President

let us discuss some of the major Difference Between CEO vs President

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  • CEO or the Chief Executive Officer of the company is the topmost or the first person in the firm hierarchy, who is overall responsible for the mission, strategy vision, and financial soundness of the company. To the contrary, the President is the top-level or the second officer of the company who is overall responsible for the management of company daily activities and the operations and implementation of the same and the strategies successfully.
  • CEO of the firm is the senior-most officer of an organization. On another hand, the President of the company is subordinate to the CEO or the Chief Executive Officer.
  • CEO of the company is accountable to the BOD (i.e. Board of Directors), whereas the CEO of the firm is the immediate manager or, say, the boss of the President.
  • President of the company will have a short-term perspective because he is responsible for the overall regular business activities and operations and the logistics. As opposed to that, the CEO of the company has a very long-term perspective because the CEO of the company is responsible for formulating the organization’s vision, mission, strategies, and goals and also forecast the firm’s future in the upcoming years.
  • The President of the company will concentrate on the maximization of the firm’s profit while, on another hand, a CEO will focus on the wealth maximization that will add value to the firm.
  • CEO of the company will look after the planning department and its function for the firm; overall, whereas the President must ensure the systematic implementation and execution of those vision, plans, and policies.
  • The President of the company will attempt for increasing efficiency that is by doing things correctly. On the flip side, the CEO or the Chief Executive Officer will strive to gain effectiveness that is by getting things done correctly.
  • The President of the company will define success as the growth of the firm, but on another hand, for a CEO of the company, success will imply sustainability.
  • Legacy achieved by the organization is the way to measure the chief executive officer or the CEO’s work and efforts. On the other hand, the firm’s performance will be the outcome of the President’s work and the efforts that he has put into it.

CEO vs President Comparison Table

Below is the 6 topmost comparison between CEO vs President

Basis of Comparison

CEO

President
Basic Definition CEO is an employee of the firm who is the topmost employee in the firm’s hierarchy and who is majorly responsible for the overall company’s vision, mission, strategy, and also financial soundness of the company. President is also an employee and who is also the top-level officer of the firm who is responsible for the day-to-day operational activities or the decisions and also an implementation of those strategies successfully.
Position in the firm The CEO is the topmost ranked employee in an organization. The President is the second-highest and will be reporting to the CEO.
Perspective in the firm CEO looks for a long-term perspective. The President is majorly concerned with a short-term perspective.
Emphasis on The CEO’s goal will be wealth maximization for its shareholders. The President looks after profit maximization.
Major Role It can be said that the CEO of the company will make a promise to the organization and will set the long-term vision for the company. On the other hand, the President of the company will be in charge of converting those vision which is set by the CEO of the company, into reality by effective execution for the same and keeping the promise.
Other responsibilities CEO may also function as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company and the President of the company. President may function as COO (Chief Operating Officer) of the company.

Conclusion

After looking at all the above-stated points, the key variances between the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Operating Officer or the CEO of the company and the President may be quite clear; these differences will specifically apply to large firms. In the smaller firms which lack human resources and finances, it is possible that the President and the CEO roles are performed by the same person. These roles could differ in terms of area of expertise, focus, knowledge, vision, skill set, view, etc., but the ultimate purpose of President vs CEO roles is the organization’s success and growth.

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