CEO or Chief Executive Officer and COO or Chief Operations Officer are most times confused to be the same by most people. The reason for this might not be unconnected to the fact that the various responsibilities of these two personnel are somehow related; however, there are so many differences between the two.
First, the CEO of a company represents the leader of a particular company i.e., the number one person that has the final say over everything that pertains to the company in terms of policies, mission, and goals. The CEO has a lot of responsibilities as he/she is the one to decide about the new programs to be embarked upon by the company.
Other personnel or officers report to the CEO for his/her final directives. The COO, on the other hand, is the chief operations officer. The need for this position in a company arises in the event that the company is too big. The COO supervises every operation and function being carried out in a company. However, the COO of a company still reports to the CEO.