CEO Vs Owner

The CEO Is the chief executive officer of a company and is one of the highest positions in any company, whereas the owner is the highest body in the company. For many years the question always rises when someone talks about the top authority in a company, Is it a CEO or owner?. Let us know ‘CEO Vs Owner’.

To answer this not-so-simple question we have analyzed both positions and to know the answer it is important to understand some factors to increase the knowledge about both such as – Roles, responsibilities, similarities, differences, and so on.

Without any further due let us discuss all the factors providing an edge to one over the other.

What is a CEO?

CEO or Chief Executive Officer is the highest position in any company not concerning the size or net worth of a company. In many companies, the Chief executive is responsible for deciding, and managing important decisions for the company such as – providing profit, expanding the company, increasing the share prices, and so on.

CEO is also the face of the company in the media and the public eye. Chief executive officers do not only make important decisions but also monitor, strategize, and implement profitable policies for the company.

As the highest position holder and top executive, a CEO does not take critical decisions on their own but instead gets guidance from the board of directors in matters related to companies benefits and vision.

CEOs are also one of the highest-paid executives in a company, according to BLS or Bureau of Labour statistics the starting range of a CEO’s salary is $100,000 and it increases with experience, size of companies, and several other factors.

What is an Owner?

The owner of the company is the highest person in the company holding all or most shares of the company. Despite being the highest person in a company, owners do not usually have any role or work.

The owner of the company is not supreme role in the company as they still must report to the board of directors of a company but in cases, where the company is small or due to other factors there is no board of directors then companies’ owner acts as a CEO is answerable to themselves.

Big Companies of around usually have divided shares among owners and co-owners, however, in many cases owner is also the founder of the company with the most shares and because of this, they have the right to do as they wish in case of a dispute.

Company Owners’ basic salary according to a survey starts from $60,000 to $500,000 per annum in a small profitable company. The salary increases or decreases with the number of shares owned, the size of the company, and many other factors.

CEO Vs Owner: Roles and Responsibilities

The Chief Executive officer or CEO has many important roles and responsibilities in a company, as they play a crucial role in a company as –

They are usually in charge of planning and strategizing profitable goals for a company.
CEOs are also expected to make crucial decisions in a company
Responsible for making a profit and ensuring that stakeholders get a return on their investments.
Legal responsibilities – Monitoring, trusting and protecting major stakeholders of the business.
Chief executives also create profitable policies for companies and manage them according to the goals.

Owners or founders of a company do not have any roles or responsibilities. However, they do have some responsibilities as owners including –

They monitor and oversee all the work and functioning of the company including – everything from Sales to operations to Human Resources and many more.
they also are responsible for combining the role of CEO, COO, MD, Vice president, Director, and other members of boards.
In Small companies’ CEOs are also the ones hiring and firing important employees (executives such as – the CEO, MD, and other board of directors).
Responsible for developing strategies and managing financial health.

Similarities Between CEO Vs Owner

Working as a person in charge of a business is already challenging and exciting. But like all other jobs being a CEO or an owner of a company comes with both advantages and disadvantages as both can change employees, customers, and stakeholders’ experience and by motivating their team they can easily guide themselves and the companies to success.

While both CEO and Owners roles are different, however, they do have some similarities. Some of the similar skills required in both jobs are –

Ownership – Owners or CEO run the companies as a part of their jobs by either strategizing policies and providing profits or by simply monitoring and managing the board of directors and other Heads.

Communication Skills – Being a CEO and acting as the face of the company or being an owner and becoming the face of the company both need to have excellent communication skills to manage the media and Public.

Leadership – Now owning and running the company is important but that cannot be done without leadership as they must not only monitor but also manage the board of directors and other heads of the companies.

Strategizing skills – Lastly strategizing is also one of the important skills for both Chief the executive and the Owners. However, it is required in distinct capacities – CEO requires excellent skills as they are head of strategizing, and this skill falls under their job description.

As for owners, it is not much of a necessity if they are CEO of their companies or because their job is to monitor Boards of directors and heads including CEOs, and MDs and not to strategize policies.

Vision Holder – Vision is the most necessary in all the skills to start or reach anywhere having a vision is a must, and as an owner holding a vision is necessary to keep the company profitable and keep the team motivated.

For CEOs also vision is a must as a CEO who work on their business by exploring and creating new ideas and possibilities to grow the company are considered Visionary and competent CEO.

CEO vs Owner: The Differences

CEO and owners both are top positions in any company but the differences between them make it easier to decide which position is better. To thoroughly explain this some of the basic differences are given below: –

The owner owns most of their business including – management and financial resources as well.

The CEO or chief executive officer on other hand is head of strategizing and does not own any financial or marketing resources as they consult with other heads including CMO, CFO, and others.

Ownership of a company means that they hold the majority of their shares.

However, the Chief executive does not own or hold any ownership or shares of the company.

Owner of the company does not get paid or receive a salary from their companies instead they receive income from the profit made by the company.

CEOs are, however, entitled to get paid by their salaries.

An owner can fire A CEO under favorable conditions at the end of the contract. The owner of a company can be changed depending on the selling or ownership of most or all shares of the company.

However, a CEO cannot fire or replace an owner of the company under any circumstances. chief executive of a company cannot just change as there is a procedure including the majority of votes from the board of directors, a valid reason, and except these several other factors also need to be considered before replacing or firing a CEO.

Owners are neither selected nor promoted from inside or outside of the company, in most cases owners are founders of the company, however, under several circumstances owners can be changed such as –
- Shares of the company were sold to another person than the owner can be changed.
- Untimely or timely death of the owner than according to the deed or according to the law the next in line family member gets shares and ownership shifted in their name.

CEOs or Chief Executives are individuals promoted from within the company because of their managing, leadership, and strategizing skills with several other factors and mostly cannot be replaced before their end of contracts.

Conclusion

After thoroughly analyzing various factors between CEO vs Owner such as – Job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, similarities, and many more. It is concluded that both positions are important in a company and depending on distinct works an owner is as important as a CEO if not more.

The owner of a company may not have as many roles and responsibilities as a CEO, but they do control and monitor distinct functions of a company including Finance, management, Human resource, and many more.

But a CEO only has a little control as compared to the owner of the company as the head of strategizing they work with other executives and department heads to bring profit to the company.

However, In the end, they don’t own or have any shares or real power in the company owners can fire and replace them with the board of directors with a valid reason but vice versa is not possible.

CEO Vs Owner – Know More