C-Suite Roles and Responsibilities

Did you know that the largest business in the world is Walmart? They bring in over a $500 billion revenue every year. It should come as no surprise that running such a large company requires having the right people running the company. 

We have put together this guide for businesses to learn more about C-suite roles and responsibilities. This can help any business make more informed decisions on which C-level titles would benefit your company the most.

Read on to learn more.

C-Suite Explained

Some people confuse what c-suite is, so to clear the air, C-suite is referring to the executive positions in a company that tend to have the word “chief” in their job title. The most common roles in the C-suite are the CEO (chief executive officer), the CFO (chief financial officer), and the CTO (chief technology officer).

These positions are usually the highest titles within a company. 

C-Suite Roles

The three titles we mentioned above are the most common, but there are a few other common C-level titles, including:

CDO

The chief data officer is the person that is responsible for the data science from a company. The CDO is in charge of market research, runs analytics, and manages the data processing software. Sometimes this role is also known as the CAO (chief analytics officer).

CFO

This is the highest level finance position found within a company. The chief financial officer is in charge of the company’s risk management, financial planning, data analysis, record keeping, financial services, and financial reports. 

The primary goal of a CFO is to make decisions that give the company a healthy cash flow. All of their decisions should be made with the goal of increasing revenue in mind. Here you can learn what are CFO services.

CLO

A chief legal officer is more of a general counsel for a company. They help keep the other C-suite roles of ordinances and current laws. The CLO also offers legal advice as needed. 

CCO

The chief compliance officer is in charge of making sure that all the employees and processes are operating as planned. They make sure that everything is in line with the policies and procedures that the company has in place. 

CXO

This is not as commonly used in business, but is a great position to implement to boost morale within customers and employees. The chief experience officer is in charge of designing a positive experience for customers when they are interacting with the company’s products. 

CIO

A chief information officer has to take care of the information technology and all strategies related to technology. The CIO is responsible for integrating technology processes that are in line with the vision and strategy of the business. 

CKO

The chief knowledge officer identifies the institutional knowledge across every department, and the CKO works to preserve this knowledge. 

CSO

When you need security within your company, then a chief security officer is in charge of making sure that the company’s data is safe. They also make sure that the physical and digital information for the company is secure.

CTO

The chief technology officer is in charge of understanding and implementing both the scientific needs and technology needs that help a business meet its goals. This is a company’s highest executive position for anything tech related. 

A CTO also has a leadership role in the engineering department and they contribute to making decisions for research and development within the company. 

CHRO

This is the highest position within a company’s human resources department. The chief human resources officer oversees the hiring process, managing employees records, and making sure all aspects of human resources are within compliance. 

COO

A chief operating officer oversees the operational functions of a business and this includes admin, company strategy, and staffing. In some businesses, the COO is called the executive vice president of operations. The COO tends to be the second person in the chain of command after the CEO. 

CSO

The chief sustainability officer is in charge of the initiative and the programs that the company makes for the environment. They make sure that the current environmental sustainability practices align with the current operations.  

Essential Skills

Although every C-suite role is a bit different, they all have a few essential skills in common. Most C-suite executives have at least a bachelor’s degree in a field that is related to their position. More competitive organizations tend to look for additional education and an advanced degree. 

C-level executives also need to have excellent communication skills in order to lead and have the ability to guide others or entire departments. Having great communication skills will also help keep the morale high and will make it easier to explain high level business strategies to those they are leading.

Because C-suite comes with a lot of responsibility, usually a company requires a minimum of 10 years experience in a related business environment or a related department. Typically, you also want the candidate to have a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role.  

Feeling Like a C-Suite Pro?

Now that you learned more in depth about C-suite and C-suite roles, you can make an informed decision on which C-suite roles you want to adapt within your own company. Evaluate which positions your business would benefit the most from, and then begin your search for the perfect candidate to fulfill that role. 

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