Chief executives
and senior officials
Chief executives and senior officials head large enterprises and organisations. They plan, direct and co-ordinate, with directors and managers, the resources necessary for the various functions and specialist activities of these enterprises and organisations. The chief executives of hospitals will be classified in this unit group. Senior officials in national government direct the operations of government departments. Senior officials in local government participate in the implementation of local government policies and ensure that legal, statutory and other provisions concerning the running of a local authority are observed. Senior officials of special interest organisations ensure that legal, statutory and other regulations concerning the running of trade associations, employers’ associations, learned societies, trades unions, charitable organisations and similar bodies are observed. Chief executives and senior officials also act as representatives of the organisations concerned for the purposes of high-level consultation and negotiation.
- Employees (UK)
- 133k
- Median annual pay
- £89,835
- Exposure score ?
- 0.4/10 Minimal 8.8/10 Very high strict reading, with tools is 8.8/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.4/10
- Wage exposure
- £478m £10.51bn
Higher exposure than 20% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Almost every routine task in this role is within reach of today's models. Roles like this are being rebuilt, usually not by disappearing but by one person using AI to produce what several did.
If you are in this role
Be the person doing the rebuilding. People who learn to run this kind of work with AI become very valuable, and the ones who wait tend to have the change made for them.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes.
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Nominate citizens to boards or commissions.
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Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
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Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
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Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Chief Executives" (11-1011.00).
What AI can already do
3 of 31 tasks, unaided
Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes.
Nominate citizens to boards or commissions.
Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.
What still needs a person
28 of 31 tasks
Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems.
Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
Direct human resources activities, including the approval of human resource plans or activities, the selection of directors or other high-level staff, or establishment or organization of major departments.
Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them.
Interpret and explain policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals.
Negotiate or approve contracts or agreements with suppliers, distributors, federal or state agencies, or other organizational entities.
Establish departmental responsibilities and coordinate functions among departments and sites.
Conduct or direct investigations or hearings to resolve complaints or violations of laws, or testify at such hearings.
Serve as liaisons between organizations, shareholders, and outside organizations.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses involved with buying or selling investment products or financial services.
Prepare bylaws approved by elected officials, and ensure that bylaws are enforced.
Make presentations to legislative or other government committees regarding policies, programs, or budgets.
Review and analyze legislation, laws, or public policy and recommend changes to promote or support interests of the general population or special groups.
Coordinate the development or implementation of budgetary control systems, recordkeeping systems, or other administrative control processes.
Preside over, or serve on, boards of directors, management committees, or other governing boards.
Direct non-merchandising departments, such as advertising, purchasing, credit, or accounting.
Refer major policy matters to elected representatives for final decisions.
Direct or conduct studies or research on issues affecting areas of responsibility.
Attend and participate in meetings of municipal councils or council committees.
Organize or approve promotional campaigns.
Administer programs for selection of sites, construction of buildings, or provision of equipment or supplies.
Represent organizations or promote their objectives at official functions, or delegate representatives to do so.
Tasks via O*NET "Chief Executives" (11-1011.00).
What AI can already do
25 of 31 tasks, with tools
Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
Direct human resources activities, including the approval of human resource plans or activities, the selection of directors or other high-level staff, or establishment or organization of major departments.
Interpret and explain policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals.
Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes.
Nominate citizens to boards or commissions.
Negotiate or approve contracts or agreements with suppliers, distributors, federal or state agencies, or other organizational entities.
Establish departmental responsibilities and coordinate functions among departments and sites.
Conduct or direct investigations or hearings to resolve complaints or violations of laws, or testify at such hearings.
Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.
Serve as liaisons between organizations, shareholders, and outside organizations.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses involved with buying or selling investment products or financial services.
Prepare bylaws approved by elected officials, and ensure that bylaws are enforced.
Make presentations to legislative or other government committees regarding policies, programs, or budgets.
Review and analyze legislation, laws, or public policy and recommend changes to promote or support interests of the general population or special groups.
Coordinate the development or implementation of budgetary control systems, recordkeeping systems, or other administrative control processes.
Direct non-merchandising departments, such as advertising, purchasing, credit, or accounting.
Direct or conduct studies or research on issues affecting areas of responsibility.
Organize or approve promotional campaigns.
Administer programs for selection of sites, construction of buildings, or provision of equipment or supplies.
What still needs a person
6 of 31 tasks
Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems.
Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them.
Preside over, or serve on, boards of directors, management committees, or other governing boards.
Refer major policy matters to elected representatives for final decisions.
Attend and participate in meetings of municipal councils or council committees.
Represent organizations or promote their objectives at official functions, or delegate representatives to do so.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Managers, directors and senior officials, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons