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

The preliminary agreement is helping JetZero’s chief executive answer a question that has been plaguing him for years: Is this thing even real?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

PayPal’s new chief executive, Enrique Lores, who took the helm in March, has laid out a plan to help the company bounce back.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Henri Murison, the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, told the BBC: "Eminent physicists have made the case for why this is particularly worrying, because it will lose physics talent across the country."

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser is hiking some prices to offset higher input costs triggered by the war in Iran, its chief executive said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Perhaps following the lead of the state’s chief executive, Durham first used the bureaucratic device that could be called “Death by Committee.”

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson