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The Daily Insight Hub

Who is higher in rank CEO or Managing Director?

Author

Sophia Koch

Updated on January 11, 2026

The CEO is at the highest position in a company. They head C-level members such as the COO, CTO, CFO, etc. They also rank higher than the vice president and many times, the Managing Director. They only report to the board of directors and the chairperson of the board of directors.

Is a Managing Director like a CEO?

A managing director is a senior-level manager who’s responsible for a company’s daily operations. Sometimes managers are given the title of managing director instead of chief executive officer, or CEO. The managing director is responsible for helping a company remain profitable and promoting innovation and expansion.

What rank is higher than CEO?

Who is higher: CEO or COO? The CEO; this is the top-ranking position within the company. The COO comes second in the hierarchy and reports to the CEO. Depending on the structure of the company, the CEO could report to the board of directors, the investors or the founders of the company.

Is a managing director higher than a VP?

On Wall Street, managing directors are department or division heads. Senior vice presidents and vice presidents are on lower rungs of the corporate ladder. Anywhere else, except in Hollywood, the title director is a middle-management title, roughly equivalent to a vice president but lower than a senior vice president.

Who is above CEO?

In general, the chief executive officer (CEO) is considered the highest-ranking officer in a company, while the president is second in charge. However, in corporate governance and structure, several permutations can take shape, so the roles of both CEO and president may be different depending on the company.

How is a managing director similar to a CEO?

In some countries, the term managing director is equivalent to the term chief executive officer. There are four ways in which we can appoint or decide upon a managing director. The first way is that a managing director can be appointed by a resolution passed at a general meeting.

Who is in charge of the Board of directors?

The CEO directly has control over the president, chief executive, CEE, and the managing director. So we can safely say that directly under the board of directors of an organization the position of the Chief Executive Officer or the CEO comes into play.

Who are the CEO, MD, and chairman of the board?

A person with multiple titles like CEO, MD, and Chairman are mainly found where the company belongs to Founder or running as a family business since generations. Example: Mukesh Ambani – Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries; Mark Zuckerberg – CEO and Chairman of Facebook

Who is the second in command behind the CEO?

– CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer). COO – Chief Operating Officer – This person is responsible for the day to day operations or an organization. This person may also be called the company’s President. This person could be thought of as the second in command behind the Chairman or CEO.