The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is the highest executive officer in the company, sort of like the captain of a ship.

He/She oversees the company's strategic planning and operational activities and is responsible for making sure that the company’s goals are met by executing its mission in every aspect. The CEO is responsible for making sure that all the employees understand and embody that mission in order for the company to succeed.

Success for the CEO is the creation of long-term shareholder value, i.e. increasing the value of the shareholders' investment. As such, he or she not only has to see the company as it is today but also has to possess the vision to see the company as it will be in the future.

Two of the key roles of the CEO are management and leadership. Broadly, management means the ability to make good decisions, and leadership means acting to ensure that the whole organization carries those decisions out. To be successful, a CEO has to work out how he or she will do both

The CEO is appointed by (and reports to) the Board of Directors, which represents the interests of all shareholders

List of video-interviews with CEOs and General Managers

The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is the Vice President for Finance. The role of the CFO has undergone significant change across the last 20 years. From simply processing transactions and reporting financial results the CFO is today involved in just about every aspect of the business and is seen to be the co-pilot to the CEO.

The CFO’s areas of responsibility include:

• Managing Costs - Develop the most appropriate cost structure for the company. Prioritize opportunities for cost reduction.
• Shared Services, Offshoring and Outsourcing - Structure a shared services model to achieve cost efficiencies. Identify the most suitable processes and locations for outsourcing.
• Budgeting, Forecasting and Planning - Improve the efficiency of the forecasting and budgeting processes. Translate that information into actionable insight.
• Managing/Measuring Company Performance - Improve the company’s reporting on past performance. Select the most appropriate mix of financial and non-financial metrics to most effectively communicate performance.
• Managing Risk - Define the role the corporate center should play in risk management versus the line. Provide the Board with metrics that enable to establish appropriate risk tolerances.
• Funding Growth - Identifying future sources of growth for the company and set capital budget for competitive growth projects.

The roles and responsibilities of the Senior Strategist vary company to company more than for other executives. The Senior Strategist works cross-functionally and distills information from a wide range of sources.

His/Her workflow falls into three distinct areas of responsibility:

• Monitoring Trends - Monitor external developments relevant to the firm as well as internal firm performance. Included in this category are activities associated with competitor monitoring/analysis as well as market trends.
• Planning Strategies - Develop long-term strategies and firm vision, strategic planning and investigate unanticipated strategic questions.
• Managing Projects - Communicate formal strategy, facilitate strategy execution, and manage special projects/initiatives.

The Purchasing Director is responsible (1) for the procurement of all materials, supplies, equipment and services needed to keep the company functioning properly; (2) for establishing and administering purchasing policies; (3) for the management of surplus property and (4) for defining how to obtain savings and coordinate purchasing procedures.

It is his/her responsibility to make certain the company receives the goods and services in a timely manner and within the allocated budgets, enabling the organization to conduct its business.

The Purchasing Director’s contribution to the stability and the profits of a company is critical, consequently, he/she is usually involved in making decisions at the top level.

The Purchasing Director is a position of trust and one that demands a commitment to the high ethical standards of the profession.

List of video-interviews with Procurement executives

The General Counsel is the company's attorney. His/Her office is responsible for protecting the company's legal interests and managing the company's legal affairs. The General Counsel's main focus is on matters that could have legal implications for the company's policies and procedures, contractual obligations, insurance, operations, and governance.

In addition to managing the day-to-day legal responsibilities, the General Counsel plays a key role in strategy development, working closely with the CEO and CFO and providing them legal perspective early as they develop future initiatives or contemplated transactions..

As a result of today's increased complexity, the General Counsel and his/her team need to be prepared to deal with challenges to the corporate reputation generally as well as more specific areas of law – intellectual property, real estate, securities, M&A, labour, and litigation.

There is no doubt that the job of the General Counsel is tougher than it was just a few years ago. At the same time, being a General Counsel today is much more rewarding personally and professionally.

List of video-interviews with Legal executives

The COO (Chief Operating Officer) is the member of the management team given the responsibility to oversee the daily operations of the company.

While the CEO has more of a strategic focus, the COO is the "troubleshooter" who ensures that the company functions as a well-oiled machine.

The responsibilities of the COO have gradually changed from oversight of a company's line of business to becoming more contingent on senior management's needs for the company at a specific point in time.

In a normal structure, the COO reports to the CEO and, perhaps, to the Board of Directors as well.

List of video-interviews with Operations executives

The CIO is responsible for ensuring that the company's Information Technology investments are aligned with its strategic business objectives. Moreover, in most businesses, the CIO is responsible for the oversight management of such office automation tasks as desktop architecture and support, network implementation, software development, and information management.

Most recently, the CIO's responsibilities have expanded beyond the traditional role to include both strategic and tactical duties, as well as corporate policy direction. As a result, the job of a CIO has become more business-oriented, and less hands-on.

The duties of today's CIOs require a skill set that includes both a strong business background and a core technical background, such as a degree in computer science or another technology-oriented discipline. However, a CIO is not (or should not be) the lead engineer or programmer. The CIO is the business executive charged with mapping IT initiatives to the goals of the organization.

CIOs at world-class companies are more likely to report to the CEO and less likely to report to the CFO

List of video-interviews with IT executives

Reporting to the CEO, the Sales Director is responsible for developing and implementing effectively the company’s sales strategy and for managing the sales function.

He/She oversees the work of a Sales team and is ultimately responsible for achieving the revenue and volume targets set by the Board.

The Sales Director often begins his or her day meeting with the sales force directly and frequently interacts with the heads of related departments (product development, marketing as well as the CEO).

Examples of the Sales Director’s duties include:

• Determining sales strategies for target clients and territory markets
• Establishing pricing structures
• Organizing the sales force and standardizing the sales process
• Monitoring the prospect and customer pipeline
• Setting revenue goals and overseeing compensation plans
• Exploring new sales opportunities

The Marketing Director (also known as Chief Marketing Officer) is responsible for leading all of the company's marketing operations, including the planning, development and execution of the company’s corporate, market, and brand strategies.

His/Her areas of responsibility include:

• Overseeing External Communication - Communicate the marketing plan to investors and customers (interactions with media and industry analysts, marketing campaigns...)
• Overseeing Internal Communication - Communicate the marketing plan to internal constituencies (marketing portal, newsletters, updates on messaging campaigns...)
• Coordinating Marketing Operations - Oversee traditional marketing activities (field and product marketing, advertising, brand differentiation, merchandising...)
• Contributing to Corporate Strategy - Participate in certain aspects of corporate strategy (Vision development, strategic corporate branding and positioning...)
• Fostering Innovation/Research - Link customer insight with new product introduction (Market research and analysis, competitive market intelligence gathering...

The HR Director is responsible for developing and organizing all human resources activities of the organization.

Under the supervision of the CEO, he/she manages a team responsible for administering all human resources functions including recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, employee relations, benefits administration, worker's compensation and employee transactions and training.

The HR Director also frames the policies for the entire company with a view to provide an employee-oriented, high performance culture that emphasizes empowerment, quality, productivity and standards.

List of video-interviews with HR executives