chief executive

American  

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

noun

• chief executives
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chief executives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chief executive

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chief executive

In an interview published on 4 October, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the benefits of AI justify accepting some of its risks and argued that the technology should remain accessible to the public.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"We cannot afford to wait for the same scale of crisis before acting again. We must heed the lessons from that time," said Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Warner’s outgoing chief executive Zaslav will leave with a golden parachute valued at about $887 million, which includes cash, stock and options valued at more than $550 million, according to regulatory filings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Sydney Von Arx is chief executive of Nightingale Collective, the not-for-profit organization whose data inspired the September swarm-chasing spree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Born in Fort Worth, he had moved to Midland after college and ultimately became the chairman and chief executive officer of the MGF Oil Corporation.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger