20+ Difference between CEO And Owner (Explained)

Every company, whether big or small, has a CEO and an Owner. A company can not function without these people.

The CEO and the Owner form part of top-level management and have high control over the business. But due to many similarities, both people are often confused with one another.

The major difference between a CEO and an Owner is that the former is an employee of the business, while the latter is someone who owns the entire business.

Comparison Between Ceo And Owner

Parameter	CEO	Owner
Meaning	It is an abbreviation for Chief Executive Officer and refers to a person working at the job post of the highest ranking job to exist in any organization. These people are a part of top-level management and are responsible for the overall functioning of the business or organization.	It refers to a person who owns a business or organization irrespective of his share of ownership in the business. These people are also a part of top-level management and the reason why the concerned organization exists in the first place.
Hierarchy	When it comes to employee hierarchy, these people come in the first place when compared to employees working in the concerned organization. However, in comparison with the Owner of the organization, these people would rather come in second place in this case.	These people would always come at the top, i.e., in the first place, as these people are the company’s owners, and every employee reports to the CEO, who then reports to the organization’s owner.
Superior-subordinate	These people do not have any superior working above them as they work at the highest-ranked job, and everyone else in the organization is their subordinate. However, in comparison to the Owner of the organization, the board of directors and the owner can be considered as their superiors.	These people do not have any superior or anyone working at an upper level than them as they own the entire organization and have everyone else, including the CEO reporting to them.
Accountable to	Since these people work at the highest-ranked jobs, thus these people do not have to report to or are accountable to many people; instead, they are just accountable to the board of directors and owner of the organization as it is their organization, and they have appointed the CEO for the company’s betterment.	These people are accountable to no one as these people own the company. The only person they are accountable to are themselves.
Degree	Generally, to work at this job position, people need to graduate in business or equivalent fields, the reason being that these people have to look after the business in every aspect, such as management, administration, finance, marketing, human resources, etc. Thus, to excel in their fields, they must have adequate knowledge.	Usually, no one needs any degree in business or equivalent fields as it is not mandatory. However, over time people prefer to have adequate knowledge first before starting their business.
Permanency	Even though people who work at this job post make lots of money and work at a higher job, there is still no guarantee that these people can not get fired or changed from their job. The Board of directors and owner can fire or change CEOs as they wish.	One of the significant advantages of being an Owner is that no one can fire or change them from their job post within the organizational limits, as the whole organization exists because they started it.
Responsibilities	The primary responsibilities of these people are to take care of the organization’s overall functioning. Moreover, these people are associated with implementing long-run plans set up by the owners for the betterment of the organization, taking vital business decisions for the organization, developing various strategies for the organization, collaborating with other business partners, ensuring that there is an achievement of the organizational goals, etc.	The primary responsibilities of these people include framing the overall goals for the betterment of the organization, delegating tasks and responsibilities, checking weekly, monthly and annual reports, giving feedback on the business decisions made by the CEO, ensuring there is an achievement of the organizational goals, recruiting major job positions such as CEO, COO, CMO, etc., giving ideas on improving and expanding the business, etc.
Control and authority	These people have the highest control and authority over the organization in comparison to other employees of the organization. However, these people tend to have a lower degree of control and authority when compared to the control and authority levels of the owners.	These people exercise the highest control and authority over the entire organization as these people own the entire organization. And no one has the power to exercise control or authority over these people within the organizational grounds, not even the CEO.

Major Difference Between Ceo And Owner

Who exactly is CEO?

It is an abbreviation for Chief Executive Officer. It refers to a person working at a job position that comes in first place in the job position hierarchy of the organization.

These executives are appointed by the board of directors and the Owners of the organization and are responsible for the smooth working of the organization as a whole.

Since these people work at the highest job position, everyone else working in the concerned organization is their subordinate and not any superior.

However, these people are accountable to the board of directors and Owners of the organization.

Key Difference: CEO

It is an initialism for a Chief Executive Officer. It can be best defined as a person working at a job position that is the highest ranking job of any organization. These people come under the category of top-level management and are responsible for the smooth running of the organization as a whole.

Since these people work at the highest job position in an organization, thus these people do not have any superior executive working at an upper level than them. And every other employee in the organization happens to be their subordinate.
However, it does not mean that these people do not have to report to anyone in the organization. These people are accountable to the board of directors and owners of the organization.

The main responsibilities of these individuals include making vital business decisions for the company, framing long-term plans for the company, collaborating with various other business firms, ensuring the plans are carried out as planned, developing strategies and tactics to ensure there is profit maximization with no wastage of resources, report to the board of directors, etc.

Despite being the CEO of any company, there is still no guarantee that their job is permanent. These people can be fired or changed as and so the board of directors and owners desire.

Who exactly is Owner?

It refers to an individual who owns an organization or a business. Every owner doesn’t need to own the concerned organization fully or 100%.

If other owners are involved, they are referred to as co-owners of the concerned organization. These people can not be considered the business’s employees and have no superiority over them.

Everyone else working in the organization is their subordinate. Since they do not have any superiors and are the organization’s owners, these people do not have to report anything to anyone.

Key Difference: Owner

It can best describe a person who owns any business or organization. He can be a sole owner and co-owner, meaning he may own any business fully or partially; either way, he is referred to as the business owner.
These people also form part of top-level management and have full control over the entire business.

Since these people own the entire business, they do not have anyone above them in the organization, and everyone else, including their CEO, is their subordinate. Moreover, these people do not have to report to anyone as it is these people only who own the business.

The main responsibilities of these people include focusing on improving their business, defining the vision and mission of the organization, delegating tasks and responsibilities to the CEO, defining the short and long-term goals for the organization, keeping an eye on the monthly and annual reports of the business, etc.

One of the trademark features of these people is that no one within the organization has any power to fire or change them from their title as it is their organization, and one can not stop them from owning their business.

The contrast between CEO And Owner

Meaning

CEO – It is an initialism for Chief Executive Officer. It can be best described as a person working in a position that comes under top-level management and is the highest in any organization.

Owner – It can be best defined as a person who owns a business or organization. A person may own any business fully, i.e., with a share of 100% or partially, when they are other partners.

Owners of any business or organization are the top-level management people exercising full control over the entire business or organization.

Hierarchy

CEO – If we consider the hierarchy of an organization that includes all the employees and their job positions, then these people come to the top of this hierarchy, i.e., at 1.

However, if we consider the hierarchy of an organization, including the owners, then these people come lower than them, i.e., at 2.

Owner – This individual would always come at the top of any organization’s hierarchy as he or she fully or partially owns the business. Everyone else, including the CEO, is merely working for them.

Superior-subordinate

CEO – Since these people work at the highest ranking job, they do not have any superiors working at an upper level than them, and everyone else working in the organization is their subordinate only.

However, the organization’s board of directors and owners can be considered superior to these individuals.

Owner – These people are the owners of the concerned organization who fully or partially owns the business; hence, there is no one above them within their organization. Everyone else working in the organization, including the CEO, is their subordinate.

Accountable to

CEO – Since no one is working above them in the concerned organization, thus, these people do not have to report anything to anyone.

However, these people have to report everything to and are accountable to the board of directors, and the owners of the organization, as these people are working for these people and their organization only.

Owner – These people do not have to report anything to anyone as they are the organization’s owners, and the business would not exist in the first place if these people did not start it.

Hence, these people need not report anything to anyone except themselves.

Degree

CEO – One of the trademark features of these people or this job position is that it typically requires people to be graduates or postgraduates in a business or equivalent field.

This is primarily because these people have to take care of everything related to the organization, whether it is finance, marketing, human resources, management, etc. Thus, it is a must for these people to know every field to excel in their jobs.

Owner – Generally, to open a business, one need not have any graduate or postgraduate degree. However, some people prefer first to achieve a degree in business management or an equivalent field to open their own business later.

Permanency

CEO – A significant disadvantage of people working in this job position is that despite being the highest ranking job position, still, their job is not permanent.

If the board of directors or owners wishes to fire their current CEO or change him, they can do so easily.

Owner – A primary advantage of being an Owner is that no one within the organizational limits can fire or change their organization’s owner, as the organization would not have existed in the first place without its owners.

Responsibilities

CEO – The primary responsibilities of these people are to manage and administer the whole organization, take care of every field of the organization, and delegate relevant tasks and responsibilities.

Moreover, these people are also associated with implementing long-run plans set up by the owners for the betterment of the organization, taking vital business decisions for the organization, developing various strategies for the organization, collaborating with other business partners, ensuring that there is an achievement of the organizational goals, reporting relevant matters to the board of directors, and owners, etc.

Owner – The primary responsibilities of these people include framing the overall goals for the betterment of the organization, delegating tasks and responsibilities, checking weekly, monthly and annual reports, giving feedback on the business decisions made by the CEO, ensuring there is an achievement of the organizational goals, recruiting major job positions such as CEO, COO, CMO, etc., giving ideas on improving and expanding the business, etc.

Control and authority

CEO – These people have the highest control and authority over the concerned organization in comparison to the control and authority of everyone else working in the organization.

However, compared to the owners’ control and authority, these people have lesser control and authority over the organization.

Owner – These people exercise the maximum control and authority over the entire organization as they own it and are superior to everyone else working there.

Thus, these people have more control and authority than the control and authority power of a CEO.

Conclusion

People often get confused when they hear CEO and Owner, considering the CEO is the highest job position, and often use the terms interchangeably. Both individuals belong to top-level management and have many similarities.

However, despite that, both are very different too. The major difference between a CEO and an Owner is that the former works at the highest job for the organization’s owners while the latter entirely owns the organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Where do CEOs and Owners come in the job hierarchy?

The former comes first if taken into account the job hierarchy of only the organization’s employees and second if taken into account the board of directors and owners.

The latter always comes first in the hierarchy, as he owns the entire organization.

Q2. Who has more control over the business: the CEO or the Owner?

Without any doubt, the latter has more control over the business as they own the entire business, whereas the latter only works for the owners.

Q3. Do you need a degree to start a business?

One does not need to have an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification to start a business.

However, people prefer first to understand business, its challenges, management, and administration before opening their business.

Q4. What are the significant differences between a CEO and an Owner?

The significant differences between a CEO and an Owner are that the former is an employee in an organization, is accountable to the board of directors and owners, and can be fired and changed.

In contrast, the latter is the owner of an organization, is accountable for no one, and can neither be fired nor be changed.

Q5. Who are some of the famous personalities who are owners and CEOs of any business or organization?

Some famous personalities who are owners and the CEO of a business include Elon Musk, the Owner and CEO of Tesla; Mark Zuckerberg, the owner, and CEO of Meta; Steve Jobs, the owner, and CEO of Apple, etc.