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Chief Executives: Job Description

Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body. Plan, direct, or coordinate operational activities at the highest level of management with the help of subordinate executives and staff managers.

What Tasks Do Chief Executives Perform?

The core tasks performed by chief executives cover:

• Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
• Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems.
• Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
• Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
• Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
• Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
• Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
• Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.

What Chief Executives Need to Know

Effective chief executives rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Other Chief Executives Job Titles

This career also goes by job titles like:

• Aeronautics Commission Director
• Agency Owner
• Agricultural Services Director
• Arts and Humanities Council Director
• Bank President
• Bureau Chief
• Business Development Executive (BD Executive)
• Business Development Officer (BD Officer)

Employment and Demand

There are about 385,243 chief executives working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -2.8% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Chief Executives

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$138,534
Hourly median	$66.60
10th percentile	$100,506
25th percentile	$119,520
75th percentile	$157,548
90th percentile	$176,561

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

How Much Do Chief Executives Make in Different U.S. States?

State	Annual median salary
Hawaii	$231,500
California	$220,600
Pennsylvania	$220,510
New York	$219,320
Michigan	$219,230
Rhode Island	$211,810
Wisconsin	$209,090
Ohio	$208,590
Nebraska	$206,080
Indiana	$205,780
Georgia	$201,750
Colorado	$194,810
Montana	$194,460
Minnesota	$194,160
Delaware	$190,460
West Virginia	$181,930
South Carolina	$181,830
Iowa	$178,530
Tennessee	$173,870
Idaho	$173,070
North Dakota	$171,310
Alaska	$168,680
Vermont	$166,190
Alabama	$164,400
Utah	$163,980
Missouri	$158,930
Kansas	$154,700
Arizona	$150,590
Oklahoma	$148,870
New Mexico	$148,790
Kentucky	$146,630
Wyoming	$140,000
Virgin Islands	$139,160
New Hampshire	$138,910
Mississippi	$125,340
Louisiana	$121,490
Arkansas	$121,220
Maine	$120,160
Guam	$106,500
Puerto Rico	$93,740

Where Chief Executives Earn the Most

Earnings for chief executives shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$194,008	25.9%	1.41
Plains States	$175,808	12.2%	1.49
Rocky Mountains	$167,724	2.8%	1.56
Middle Atlantic	$162,078	18.1%	1.22
Great Lakes	$157,187	12.0%	0.71
Southwest	$149,841	3.2%	0.74
Southeast	$129,145	17.5%	0.92
Other U.S. Territories	$97,169	1.7%	2.06

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Chief Executives

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
Cleveland, OH	OH	$239,130	870
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	NC	$236,800	60
Wausau, WI	WI	$236,650	80
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI	MI	$233,640	110
Bend, OR	OR	$233,520	30
Richmond, VA	VA	$232,850	690
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	CT	$232,600	70
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	IA	$232,510	350

Industry Breakdown

The largest employers of chief executives work in these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	39,980	$208,870
Health Care and Social Assistance	18,460	$194,360
Educational Services	17,240	$177,430
Management of Companies and Enterprises	16,730	n/a
Finance and Insurance	16,720	n/a
Manufacturing	11,760	n/a
Wholesale Trade	11,050	$217,770
Other Services (except Public Administration)	9,900	$167,270

Below are examples of industries where chief executives work:

Software Chief Executives Use

• Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
• Content workflow software: Atlassian JIRA (hot technology)
• Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
• Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
• Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
• Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
• Project management software: Microsoft Project (hot technology)
• Document management software: Microsoft SharePoint (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

The work environment for chief executives is shaped by the following characteristics:

• E-Mail
• Freedom to Make Decisions
• Telephone Conversations
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled

Education and Training

Most chief executives positions require a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Financial Managers (Primary-Long)
• Treasurers and Controllers (Primary-Short)
• Human Resources Managers (Supplemental)
• Education Administrators, Postsecondary (Primary-Long)
• Social and Community Service Managers (Primary-Short)
• Compliance Managers (Primary-Long)
• Labor Relations Specialists (Supplemental)
• Management Analysts (Primary-Short)

Top Programs to Study For This Career

Future chief executives commonly pursue programs in:

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

8 programs across 6 majors

• Business Administration & Management
• Business & Commerce
• Finance & Financial Management
• Management Sciences & Methods
• Entrepreneurial Studies
• International Business

Sources

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 11-1011.00 (Chief Executives).