# Do you know what your CEO looks like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188 "2010-02-16T12:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BKReporter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/21 "2010-02-16T15:06:37Z")
I work for a media company that employs close to 10,000 people. The CEO is featured in the orientation materials all employees get when they start, so I have some idea what he looks like. I would probably recognize him if he dropped in, but I think that would mainly be because the corporate higher-ups wear expensive suits and have a couple of hangers-on when they visit. I’ve never actually seen him in person though, and if he were to come by himself dressed like any other schlub, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/22 "2010-02-16T15:13:17Z")
My company has about 1,200 employees: I know the CEO, and he knows me. We even chat a bit when we meet, e.g., in the cafeteria. At my last employer, I knew the what the CEO (the vice-chancellor) looked like, but he didn’t know me. However, I did know the person above him in the hierarchy (the chancellor), because she’d been one of my professors when I was an undergraduate. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/23 "2010-02-16T15:14:07Z")
We’ve got 5 or 6 thousand people in my company and I’ve met the CEO on a number of occasions and had drinks with him once. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/24 "2010-02-16T15:37:18Z")
I work for a very large consumer electronics company and I would instantly recognize the CEO. He’s super tall, has an accent and I’ve seen him on many occasions. Previously, I worked at Microsoft. I would have had no difficulties recognizing Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer. At both places, CEOs were frequently highlighted on the company intranet home page. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/25 "2010-02-16T15:56:04Z")
I work retail. I don’t even know the CEO’s name, but I’m not in Minnesota so I don’t rightly care either since I’m never gonna see him (her? I don’t even know) ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/26 "2010-02-16T15:59:01Z")
I currently work for a small corp. and while I recognize the CEO I would probably miss him on the street of course the last time I ran into him, after a meeting he stopped me, knew my name and asked some questions about a project I was working on so he knows me. When I was working for Oxy I didn’t even know the CEO’s name except when I’d run across it as the highest paid CEO in the country. I didn’t even know what the GM of my branch looked like. I like working for a small company much better. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/27 "2010-02-16T16:00:31Z")
Sure. When you work in IT and fix computer problems, you get to know everyone. Of course, this is a college, so the president has a very high profile both on campus and in the media (and since it’s one location, you run into him all the time). I wouldn’t know the chairman of the Board of Trustees, though. For nearly all of my jobs, the business was small enough to know the CEO. The only exception was when I worked for Spencer Gifts and as a temp. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/28 "2010-02-16T16:09:35Z")
My company has about 78,000 employees, with about 2,000 here at our corporate headquarters. I know our CEO on sight - he regularly hosts HQ-wide meetings to give us company updates, and I’ve been in the elevator with him. However, 90% of our employees work in our stores, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them do not have any idea what he looks like, or if they even know his name. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/29 "2010-02-16T16:17:59Z")
Yes and no. The company I work for has over 8,000 employees, but is owned by a larger company of something like 60,000. The CEO of the smaller company recently accepted a promotion to CEO of the larger company. Not only do I recognize him, we said hi to each other just the other day. And it’s not like I run in executive circles here, it’s just that he’s out among us commoners really often. He seems like a very social guy. I was at the press conference when he ushered in the new CEO of the smaller company. Not only would I not recognize her, I can’t even remember her name. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/30 "2010-02-16T16:52:30Z")
120,000 employees, and yes, I know the CEO. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/31 "2010-02-16T16:55:18Z")
Another large company drone here. We get weekly update emails from the CEO, including a picture of him. Which fills up the stupidly small Inbox awful quick. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/32 "2010-02-16T16:57:48Z")
My CEO is a Jewish carpenter! Oh, not really. Sorry; shouldn’t post while stuck in traffic staring at other people’s bumpers. I work for a gigantic federal agency, and I know what my agency head looks like That’s a bit of a cheat, though, since such a person is naturally a more public figure than most private CEOs. We’re even supposed to have a picture hanging in the lobby, but we’re in a satellite building and somehow they never bother with that. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/33 "2010-02-16T16:59:25Z")
We have 32,000 employees and I would know the global CEO and/or the Americas CEO and the global CFO/COO on the street. But I work in PR and interact with them all quite a bit. Still, all three of them send out all-employee messages on a pretty regular basis which include their photos, and we hold a quarterly town hall meeting which everyone is encouraged to attend and ask questions (even anonymously via email) and the webinar version of those sessions also includes photos of all participants. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/34 "2010-02-16T17:01:41Z")
I know the library director on sight, and she knows my name. That’s partly because I work at the main branch and have done a lot of research for her. There are, I dunno, maybe 600 employees in the system. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/35 "2010-02-16T17:21:13Z")
I’ve seen pictures. I met her once, several years ago. And she has a blog. Regardless, it probably would take me a few seconds to recognize her. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/36 "2010-02-16T17:25:25Z")
Yup. I work in a hospital/medical center with several thousand employees. I’ve seen him in the hallways (and have exchanged hellos with him), he regularly holds Q&A sessions with anyone who wants to show up (not to mention random other meetings with ‘average’ employees), and his photo has been in newsletters and on signs advertising the meetings. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/37 "2010-02-16T17:37:01Z")
> [@Noone\_Special](#): > > 100+? I think you’re aiming low. My company now has over 100 employees, and I certainly know my CEO well enough to chat with him by the coffee machine. > > I really think your cutoff should be closer to the “500+” or “1000+ employees” mark, at the very least. I agree. I’m a government employee, so I don’t have a particular CEO, but I’ve been in two different divisions at my agency, each with over 100 people, and my division chiefs have all known who I was. Next guy above my division chief is one of the assistant directors of my agency. The divisions that report to him have about 500 people, all told. He and I know each other from back when he was my division chief in my old division, and we have a longstanding cribbage rivalry going, at least when he’s got a spare moment for it. I’d recognize the director of my agency if he stopped by (I’ve been to talks he’s given on statistical subjects that relate to my own work), though he wouldn’t know me from Adam. I wouldn’t recognize the Cabinet secretary that he reports to. OTOH, I’d _definitely_ recognize the guy that the Cabinet secretary reports to. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/38 "2010-02-16T17:43:16Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > The new show Undercover Boss has me wondering, for those of you who work in companies of 100+, do you know what your CEO looks like? Have you met him in person? Do you know him only by his official photo? If you walked by him on the street, would there be a flash of recognition? Or do you have absolutely no clue how he looks? My company is 90,000+ on four continents, and I’d recognize our Chair and our CEO. Our Chair has only been with the company for 2 months or so, so he was recently brought to my attention. Of course I’d also recognize both by their accents which are decidedly not American. I’d also recognize the CEO of my mother’s company of some 60,000 employees. I’ve met him in person twice, I imagine if I met him a third time I’d recognize him from the fumes of pricey booze before I ever saw his face. Sad, but true. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/39 "2010-02-16T17:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sir T-Cups] I work retail. I don’t even know the CEO’s name, but I’m not in Minnesota so I don’t rightly care either since I’m never gonna see him (her? I don’t even know) [/QUOTE] [He’s the one without the pointy ears.](http://kellogg.northwestern.edu/centennial/images/spiffs/alumni/Gregg-Steinhafel.jpg) Just guessing, since you mentioned Minnesota and retail. 😛 As for my CEO, he appears to be Mr. Interchangeable Corporate Honcho. The only way I’d ever recognize him in the real world would be if he was introduced or announced. We’re approximately the 12th largest non-government employer in the US, so any one person can easily get lost in the mob. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188/40 "2010-02-16T17:58:19Z")
Sure thing. Our firm is ~1800 people. I have worked personally with the Managing Partner as well as the COO and I’m on a first-name basis with them. I know our CIO by sight; he might recognize me as someone in his organization but he probably doesn’t know my name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-your-ceo-looks-like/529188.md?page=3)