Business Title Hierarchy

Business titles or corporate titles are the titles that are given to officials working in organizations to mark their duties, responsibilities and level of work. Such business titles are not only used in private companies but also publicly held profit organizations.  Some other businesses that make use of corporate or business titles include educational institutions, partnerships, nonprofit organizations and even sole proprietorship’s.

While in most cases there is the same business title hierarchy system, some variations might still exist from company to company. But if you wish to read and understand the Business Structure Hierarchy, you can go through the following given information.

Business Title hierarchy
C-Level Titles

The C-Level titles are the highest titles in corporations or businesses and are given to people who head divisions and disciplines. The following are some of the common C-Level titles:

  • Chief Executive officer(CEO)
  • Chief Financial officer(CFO)
  • Chief Information Officer(CIO)
  • Chief Marketing officer(CMO)
  • Chief Executives Manager(CEM)
  • Chief Engineering officer
  • Chief Communications officer
  • Chief administrative officer
  • Chief Business officer
  • Chief technology officer
  • Chief strategy officer

There are many other C-Titles but they are specific to businesses and industries. They may not apply to all companies and hence only these common titles have been mentioned.

Senior Management

The senior management is the main core staff of any company and is comprised of people who possess the main responsibilities and duties. These individuals look after day to day functioning of the company and the following are the main titles:

  • Chairman of board-the chairman of the board presides over the board of directors of the corporation and he/she also influences the decisions of the board.
  • CEO
  • Executive chairman
  • Non-executive chairman
  • Chief of staff-he /she have the main and core responsibility over the entire staff and is responsible for hiring and firing staff members.
  • Commissioner-
  • Financial control officer-the FCO is the person who is responsible for financial and account reporting.
  • Director-the director heads the division of the various managers.
  • President-presides over the various departments and is member of the board.
  • Company secretary-reports to the board of directors and keeps the record of the board of the company.
  • Treasurer-is responsible for handling the finances and company funds.
  • Superintendent
  • Owner-owner of sole proprietorships
  • Partner-co owner of a legal partnership and also known as the associate.
  • Principal-owner of the business
  • Vice chairman-takes the position of the chairman in his absence.

Middle Management

The following are the various positions that fall within the middle management category of business titles in a company:

  • Associate
  • Supervisor
  • Foreman
  • General manager or GM
  • Manager
  • Vice President

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HR Management Hierarchy

google company hierarchy