There are many confusing words in English, as you probably know if you are a student of the language.
The normal translation of executive is ejecutivo, and it seems to be a true friend word (for a change). If you are still in any doubt, an executive is generally defined as
“someone who has an important position in business, making decisions and putting them into action.»
Some examples would be
a high-ranking/senior/top executive
an advertising/marketing/oil executive
company/corporate/industry executives
a financial/sales executive
Executive refers to a person with a high position and responsibility in the company. These titles are descriptive and are not normally used as the actual job title itself. In this case you would use either manager, director or Vice-President in the USA. For example, a sales manager (not commercial), the CEO, the Marketing director, VP marketing, etc.
Be careful how you use director and manager in your job titles. In the UK, a director is someone who has a higher position in a company than a manager. Directors oversee a group of managers who are in charge of departments. A clear difference is that a director is in charge of creating policies and managers are responsible for enforcing them.
A director sits on the board of directors (junta directiva) with the chairperson (president in the USA) as the head. They report to stakeholders, owners and shareholders and are in charge of the general performance of a company.
A managing director (MD) is the UK equivalent of a CEO in the USA, although some UK companies also use this abbreviation. In Spanish the equivalent is a consejero delegado.
In the end, job titles will be influenced by the size and type the company, as well as certain specific policies. Do you use the right job titles for your executives?
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