Chief operating officer positions can differ significantly from one company to the next, as well as between industries. When a chief operating officer (COO) is present in the corporate structure, he is usually in charge of the company’s day-to-day operations. The COO is frequently the second-highest-ranking person in the executive structure, reporting directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) and following the CEO’s guidelines. A COO can be hired by any company that is organized as a corporation, though some will delegate typical COO duties to lower-level executives. In situations like these, a vice president or director of operations may be able to fill the role of chief operating officer.
The top executives in a typical corporate structure are referred to as the “C-suite.” Depending on the industry and the company, this could include the chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer (CFO), and others. The COO may also have the title and responsibilities of president if the CEO is also the chairman of the board of directors. It’s also possible for a COO to have a dual role, and for chief operating officer jobs to include CFO, CTO, or other responsibilities. Larger companies may have multiple COOs, each in charge of a different section or division of the company.
The COO’s responsibilities are largely determined by the industry in which he works. In industries such as manufacturing, chief operating officer jobs may focus on developing or improving every aspect of the systems involved in producing and delivering the products the company produces. Chief operating officer jobs in other industries, such as information technology, may be more tailored to focusing the company’s limited resources to achieve the CEO’s goals.
A COO typically has in-depth knowledge of the industry in which he works, and COOs are occasionally brought over from another company in the same industry to address a problem that a corporation is experiencing. Because their job is to overhaul the company’s operations and fix a problem, these COOs may be referred to as “fixers.” A COO is also likely to rise through the ranks of a company and then stay on as COO until the CEO is ready to step down. This can give a company a natural successor at the helm and a sense of management continuity.