A “Chief Executive Officer” is a natural person who chairs the management body of an enterprise or institution, that is in charge of the business.
Under German law, the term has no legal meaning. If the company is a legal entity represented by a Vorstand, the “Chief Executive Officer” in German-speaking countries is referred to as “Vorstandsvorsitzender”, “Vorsitzender des Vorstands”, “Vorstandssprecher” or “Sprecher des Vorstands”. If the company is constituted as a company managed by several managing directors, the term “Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung” is used in German-speaking countries.