the role of the CEO is that the buck stops with them. they are not only a figurehead but ultimately responsible for everything at the company. way different
It seems to me that most CEOs are simply irrelevant. The company does well if it does, and doesn't if it doesn't. It is rare that any one person is able to turn around the fortunes of their company. The only example that comes to mind right now is Steve Jobs.
When a company reaches a certain size, the CEO is basically a ceremonial position. Note how Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos all left their companies with little effect.
I don't buy the oft-repeated claim that you can re-make a company simply by replacing the CEO. I don't believe that CEOs in large companies have much influence on the company's direction, except in terms of decisions to downsize/outsource, how to use money, and who's on the board. There's only so much one person can do (and accordingly, I think all big-company CEOs are vastly overpaid).
Moving the deckchairs in the boardroom isn't going to solve systemic problems in a company.
We're just used to CEOs having only a decorative role, who can be replaced in an instant. So much so that when we see a CEO actually working/engaging with the actual product/service, they seem like a peculiar and rare specimen.
Careful, you're dangerously close to realizing that Executives at companies provide vanishingly little day to day value to companies.
I'd bet in most companies the CEO is basically just a buffer between the board and the rest of the company, and essentially a fall guy position so the board can avoid accountability.
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