The C-suite comprises the highest-ranking executives at a company, such as the CEO (chief executive officer), CFO (chief financial officer), and CMO (chief marketing officer).
For Unbound Merino Founder and CEO Dan Demsky, his role in the C-suite evolved along with the needs of his growing business. On an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, he discusses how he realized that being a founder and a CEO required different skills. The founder’s appetite for early-stage experimentation helped build the business. Later, the role required more focus on managing the team and leading the organization.
In this guide, you’ll learn what the C-suite is, common executive roles and responsibilities, and how small businesses can think about leadership structure as they scale.
What is the C-suite?
The “C” in C-suite stands for “chief,” as in chief executive officer (CEO) or chief financial officer (CFO). The C-suite is the collective name for the leadership level of a company and includes all the chief roles.
Executives in the C-suite shape the company’s direction and oversee high-priority business functions. They set strategy, manage teams, track key metrics, and make critical decisions that affect growth and profitability.
In larger companies, the executive team may include many C-level positions to lead finance, operations, marketing, technology, human resources (HR), data, and compliance. In smaller operations, those responsibilities may be handled by a single founder or shared among a small leadership team.
A founder might still act as CEO while also leading marketing efforts or product strategy. If the company grows, those responsibilities can become formalized as the business adds leaders and builds a more defined organizational structure.
Common C-suite roles and their responsibilities
- Chief executive officer (CEO)
- Chief financial officer (CFO)
- Chief operating officer (COO)
- Chief marketing officer (CMO)
- Chief technology officer (CTO) or chief information officer (CIO)
Here are the titles for common C-suite executives and what they typically manage:
Chief executive officer (CEO)
The chief executive officer (CEO) is normally the highest-ranking executive. Their responsibilities include:
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Setting the overall vision for the company
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Handling long-term strategy, business goals, and major leadership decisions
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Working closely with department heads or the board of directors
In ecommerce, that can mean deciding whether to expand product lines, enter wholesale, invest in new sales channels, or shift pricing strategy.
Chief financial officer (CFO)
The chief financial officer (CFO) oversees financial strategy, including:
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Budgeting and forecasting
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Managing cash flow
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Building a plan to achieve profitability
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Fundraising
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Pricing analysis
For ecommerce businesses, a CFO may monitor profit margins by product line, assess inventory investments, or help determine how quickly the business can scale sustainably.
Chief operating officer (COO)
The chief operating officer (COO) manages the day-to-day execution of business operations. For an ecommerce company, this role often connects the strategy set by leadership to the systems that move orders.
Here are some areas of responsibility for COOs:
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Fulfillment and logistics
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Inventory systems
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Vendor relationships
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Customer support processes
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Workflows across teams
Chief marketing officer (CMO)
The chief marketing officer (CMO) leads marketing strategy and customer acquisition. They lead strategy and decision-making in areas including:
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Social media and influencer marketing
For commerce brands, this role often focuses on balancing growth with customer acquisition cost. A CMO may also work closely with finance teams to align marketing spend with revenue goals.
Chief technology officer (CTO) or chief information officer (CIO)
A chief technology officer (CTO) or chief information officer (CIO) focuses on building or managing technical systems tied to the product or customer experience. A CIO often focuses more on internal systems and information technology. For a Shopify merchant, that could mean overseeing apps, back-end workflows, customer data, and how technology supports growth.
For ecommerce businesses, A CIO or CTO’s areas of responsibility can include:
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Ecommerce platform infrastructure
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Analytics systems
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Site performance
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Security and data workflows
Do small businesses need C-suites?
Most small businesses don’t launch with a suite of C-level executives. Founders often wear multiple hats until a department has grown to the point where it needs dedicated senior leadership to run properly.
Sometimes it’s ideal that you’re close to multiple roles as a founder. Aliyah Marandiz of SugarDoh tells Shopify Masters that one of her regrets was outsourcing financial leadership too early to a fractional CFO—a part-time CFO who provides financial leadership for multiple brands. “My biggest regret is not doing the CFO services in-house and learning it myself or having somebody on my team running the finances,” she says. Fractional CFOs weren’t close enough to daily operations to anticipate challenges. When the time was right, she brought on her husband as a full-time CFO, and since then, they’ve made fewer mistakes and been able to forecast more accurately.
As an early-stage entrepreneur, you might be covering multiple C-suite roles by functioning as:
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A CEO, when you’re setting company strategy
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A CFO, when reviewing expenses and managing cash flow
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A CMO, while running marketing campaigns
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A COO, when handling fulfillment
As your company grows, you may need senior leaders responsible for strategy, high-stakes decisions, and long-term goals in specific departments.
Sana Javeri Kadri, founder and CEO of Diaspora Co., describes the turning point when she and her COO realized the value of defining their leadership roles and ownership of responsibilities within the growing company. On Shopify Masters, Sana explains that they “ built this Venn diagram, and I said, ‘OK, this is your half. This is my half. This is where we both oversee things. I don’t touch your half. You don’t touch my half,’ and it’s been a game changer.”
If one area of the business consistently needs strategic oversight beyond your bandwidth, it may be time to define the position and hire an expert.
C-suite FAQ
What does the “C” stand for in C-suite?
“C” stands for “chief.” Examples include chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief operating officer (COO). The C-suite is the full suite of chief officers.
Do small businesses need a C-suite?
Many founders of small businesses manage executive responsibilities on their own, adding C-suite roles as teams and operations grow.
When should a company add executive roles?
Businesses may add C-suite executives when functions such as finance, operations, or marketing need dedicated leadership to support growth and improve decision-making.
