CEO
UK[ˌsiː.iːˈəʊ]US[ˌsiː.iːˈoʊ]
n
the person with the highest rank in a company or organization, who is responsible for its management
Etymology
The term "CEO" is a modern initialism, originating in American corporate culture in the mid-20th century. It is an abbreviation for the compound title "Chief Executive Officer," where "chief" denotes the highest rank, "executive" refers to the power to put plans or actions into effect, and "officer" indicates a person holding a position of authority. As a lexicalized initialism pronounced letter-by-letter, "CEO" functions as a simplex noun in contemporary English, representing the singular top leadership position within a corporate hierarchy.
Analysis
This is an initialism (an abbreviation pronounced as a series of letters) for "Chief Executive Officer". It is not composed of productive morphemes in its abbreviated form.
Examples
The board of directors appointed a new CEO to lead the company's turnaround.
As CEO, her primary responsibility is to set the company's long-term strategy.
The CEO will address the shareholders at the annual meeting next week.