President Vs. CEO: What’s The Difference?

Both the president and chief executive officer (often abbreviated to CEO) hold high-level positions in corporations. It’s not always clear what each person in each role does and who reports to whom. Therefore, you may be wondering: what is the difference? Is there a difference? Or do the titles overlap?

Yes, there is a difference between the president and CEO of a company. The CEO is the one fully in charge – they’re the one who sets the company’s vision and institutes the board’s decisions.

Presidents are more in charge of operations. Sometimes they take the place of the chief operating officer (usually abbreviated to COO). Depending on the company’s size and structure, then a president may oversee a part of the company under the direction of the COO.

Key Takeaways:

President	CEO
A president of a company works on the operations side and is usually the chief of a particular department.	The CEO is a member of the board of directors – often the chair – and works with them to set the company’s vision.
Those in the role of president are in charge of their department’s budget, making sure their managers are on track and implementing company policy.	CEOs are responsible for liaising between the board and the company, laying out company direction, and positively representing the company to the public and press.
The presidents report to the CEO of a company, though they will sometimes make suggestions to the board.	The CEO reports to and works with the board and gives direction to presidents and other members of upper management.
Presidents make a median salary of $203,500 per year.	CEOs will average a salary of about $207,500 per year.

What Is a President?

In a corporation, the position of president is a very high level of management. Generally, in a large company, the president will be in charge of a section of the company – such as marketing. The president will then report to the COO or CEO – depending on the company’s structure.

At present, there are several key responsibilities that need to be fulfilled. These include, but aren’t limited to:

Managing the budget for their department. In their fiefdom, the buck stops with the president, which means that they’re the person responsible for making sure that budget goals are met, and money is distributed properly.
Guiding the managers in the department. As the CEO gives direction to the presidents, the president will direct and guide the managers in their department toward the company goals and objectives.
Implementing the directives of the CEO and board of directors. Being at the top of a department, presidents are the ones who take the company directives and strategy and start to break it down so that they can administer programs and projects as needed.
Making recommendations to the board of directors. While the board of directors and CEO have a vision for the company, the president works with the people who’ll be responsible for implementing it.

That means that their job is to advocate for their employees when needed and make suggestions for how to make the vision a reality with the personnel and resources they have.

Despite the differences outlined above, in a small company, the president will also take the role of CEO and possibly be the owner as well. The differentiation between the two really is only evident in large corporations, where one person wouldn’t be able to run everything, deal with the board, and set directives.

What Is a CEO?

The acronym CEO is short for the chief executive officer. The CEO is going to be the main leader of a corporation and is often the chair of the board of directors.

The CEO is only beholden to the board and stakeholders in the company – beyond that, they’re the apex. Because of that, they are often the representative of the company, and their presence is seen as synonymous with the company’s direction and profitability.

CEOs have several core duties that they need to carry out. They include:

Laying out the company’s direction. The CEO is in charge of setting the company’s vision. Often they’ll take direction from what the board wants, but sometimes the CEO will make the decision alone.
Being the primary liaison between the board directions and the upper management of the company.

The majority of the personnel in a company doesn’t interact with the board of directors. The CEO acts as an intermediary between the board and the rest of the company, putting the board’s requests into action and making sure that the company meets expectations.
Presiding over the various business operations of the company. Being the head executive, the CEO is the one who oversees the company’s operations. While others, mainly presidents, are directly responsible for operations, the CEO is the one who makes sure they’re meeting goals and have what they need to in order to do so.
Being the representation of the company to the press and the public. A fair amount of a CEO’s job has to do with public relations and dealing with the press. As the head of the company, the CEO represents the company’s actions and successes (or lack thereof) to the public.

The specific role of the CEO only really exists in large corporations. In smaller companies, the role of the CEO is blended with President or COO, and sometimes other positions as well, depending on just how small the company is.

President vs. CEO FAQ

What are the roles of the CEO and president?

The role of the CEO is the chief executive officer, which means that they’re in charge of laying out the company’s policies and direction. A president’s role is more in operations, which means that they’re responsible for implementing the CEO’s directives.

Both are very high levels, so management is involved in the highest decision-making levels. In small companies, there’s a lot of overlap between the roles, and they may be filled by the same person.
What’s the difference between an owner and a president?

The difference between an owner and a president is that the owner owns the company, while a president works in operations. In small companies, it’s not uncommon for them to be the same person, but it isn’t a given. In large corporations, they may not be one owner.
Are the roles of president and COO the same thing?

The roles of a president and COO are often the same, but not always. In large companies, there may be a president rather than a COO, but if the company is very large, the president will usually work under a COO.
Is the CEO higher than the president?

Yes, the role of the CEO is higher than that of the president. CEOs work directly with the board of directors to set their policies for the company. A president takes direction from the CEO and begins to work on implementing those policies.

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Author

Di Doherty

Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.

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