chief executive

[ cheef ig-zek-yuh-tiv ]

noun

1. the president of the United States:

   the powers of the chief executive, as granted by the Constitution.

2. the governor of a U.S. state:

   the newly elected chief executive of Rhode Island.

3. the head of a government:

   a conference attended by all the European chief executives.

4. Also called chief executive officer. the head of an organization, company, etc.:

   the chief executive of a media corporation.

chief executive

noun

1. the person with overall responsibility for the efficient running of a company, organization, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of chief executive¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

On 29 October, McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski apologised for the outbreak, saying the firm was "sorry for what our customers experienced".

From BBC

Ben Collins, a former NBC News journalist who is chief executive of The Onion’s parent company, said on X: “We're planning on making a very stupid website.”

From BBC

Tracy Blackwell, chief executive of Pension Insurance Corporation, told the BBC: "I think by having the scale and the right expertise internally to invest in a wide range of assets, they'll be able to invest in a lot more than what they can invest in now."

From BBC

“This was a pivotal and successful year for The Walt Disney Co., and thanks to the significant progress we’ve made, we have emerged from a period of considerable challenges and disruption well positioned for growth and optimistic about our future,” Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

“When you have constant new content coming, it really does help them reduce churn,” said Jeffrey Wlodarczak, chief executive of Pivotal Research Group.

From Los Angeles Times