chief executive

American  

[cheef ig-zek-yuh-tiv] / ˈtʃif ɪgˈzɛk yə tɪv /

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.

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chief executive British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of chief executive

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

Vinai Venkatesham was upbeat when he began his new job as Tottenham Hotspur chief executive last summer.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose comments have stoked anxiety about AI's potential effects on society, are now arguing that doom-laden warnings were overblown or, in some cases, disingenuous.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

A deal gives Lululemon some breathing room to regroup as it prepares to welcome a new chief executive this fall.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, admitted on Monday that he had embezzled more than £400,000 from the party over a 12-year-period.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

Since there had never been a republican chief executive, there was no readily available vocabulary to characterize such a creature, except the verbal traditions that had built up around European courts and kings.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis