C-suite

[ see-sweet ]

adjective

1. noting or relating to executives at the C-level, the highest management level in an organization:

   C-suite leadership.

noun

1. the top executives in an organization, considered collectively:

   decision-making by the C-suite.

Word History and Origins

Origin of C-suite¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Many a C-Suite office is filled with someone who started out at the very bottom.

From The Daily Beast

Now, sophisticates know that infidelity happens all the time, in the C suite and on the factory floor.

From The Daily Beast

More About C-suite

What does C-suite mean?

C-suite refers to the group of highest-level executive positions within a corporation or organization, also known as C-level positions.

Where does C-suite come from?

In the corporate world, C-suite is used to refer to those within the most senior group—or suite, in this case meaning “set”—of managers in a company.

The names of these positions generally begin with the letter C for chief, for example, the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO). People in this suite are also referred to as C-levels or C-level executives.

C-suite was first recorded around 1990–1995. The use of the term has broadened to refer to being in a position of power and authority more generally.

How is C-suite used in real life?

C-suite was originally, and is still, used as business jargon for corporate senior management.

Its meaning has extended to informally mean “making it to the top” of a business, and it is increasingly used outside the business world as slang for inclusion among the most important or elite people within a given community or enterprise.

C-suite can act as a collective noun for senior management (e.g., the C-suite) as well as a modifier for that level of authority (e.g., C-suite responsibilities).

More examples of C-suite:

“Casey Foss (@cfoss24) shares how she’s learned to balance motherhood with a career in the C-Suite”

—West Monroe Careers, January 2018