A widespread belief about a new business is that it usually closes down during its first year. It happens, but only 30% of these businesses fail in their first 12 months. The number rises once companies reach their fifth year and their very first decade — at 50% and 66% respectively.
Companies that are successful in making it past these tumultuous years can expect stability or even further growth in years to come. Some companies experience growth so exponentially that new roles need to be created and filled. That is so that there’s a proper division of responsibilities, resulting in the company achieving higher rates of productivity.
A prime example of such roles is the Chief Officer positions. CEOs, CFOs, CMOs — these positions can be filled with individuals from the firm itself or outsourced. But what exactly do they do in the company?
Chief Executive Officer
The CEO or Chief Executive Officer is the highest-ranking official in any firm. They lead the firm. When making critical decisions, they have the final say. Although they conduct meetings with other high-ranking individuals to gather their input, resulting in a better grasp of the situation.
Another important responsibility that the CEO has is leading the endeavor to make the firm’s vision and mission come to life.
Chief Officers, counting those discussed below, are expected to report to the CEO, either on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. The CEO evaluates the work of these officials and the employees under their authority. Doing this ensures that there are no liabilities in the firm.
Chief Financial Officer
Another senior executive is the Chief Financial Officer or the CFO. As the title suggests, the CFO’s domain is in finances. Reporting, liquidity, return of investments — these are some elements of the financial success that they handle.
The CFO handles the financial planning and policy-making for the firm daily. At the same time, they also oversee the productivity of the employees responsible for the data analysis and record keeping. Given the CFO’s main responsibilities, they need to have leadership and critical skills to do well in said position.
While the CFO answers to the CEO, they are also expected to have meetings with the board of directors.
Chief Marketing Officer
The CMO, better known as the Chief Marketing Officer, is responsible for handling all marketing-related affairs. Their primary role is to raise awareness regarding the company to drive its growth. A few key responsibilities that CMOs take up for their company are brand and sales management, marketing communications and training, product development, distribution management, and customer service.
To do well in this position, every person assigned needs to be creative and capable of developing striking narratives. They also need to be innovative and collaborative because a successful marketing team is one that bounces off ideas with one another. Failure to be any of these poses a considerable risk to the company. That is because the firm can become stale due to the lack of marketing.
These are only three of the many Chief Positions found in large-scale companies. Their importance to the firm is founded not only in their skills and talents but their ability to lead the team they are overseeing as well.
