Understanding the Differences Between CEO, CFO, and COO Roles
What Are the Key Differences Between CEO, CFO, and COO? A Guide for eCommerce Business Owners
If you're running a growing eCommerce brand and feeling confused about executive roles, you may have wondered about the differences between these key C-suite positions.
But what exactly are the responsibilities of each role, and how do they support online businesses?
Let's break down the key differences between these roles: • CEO (Chief Executive Officer) - Overall company vision and strategy • CFO (ChiefFinancialOfficer) - Financial strategy and management • COO (Chief Operating Officer) - Day-to-day operations and execution
✔ Leadership alignment and vision ✔ Cross-functional team coordination ✔ Executive decision-making ✔ Organisational structure planning ✔ C-suite role optimisation
While a CEO leads company vision and strategy, and a COO handles operations, the CFO focuses on financial leadership. Each role is distinct but complementary, offering different types of expertise to help scale your business.
How TheseExecutive Roles SupporteCommerce Brands
Running an eCommerce business is complex. You're managing multiple data points, executive responsibilities, leadership roles, and dozens of moving parts. Even if your team structure is strong, it can be difficult to understand who should be responsible for what or how to optimize your organizational structure.
This is where understanding these distinct roles can help.
Each executive role provides unique value:
✔ Define executive roles ✔ Optimize leadership structure ✔ Improve team efficiency ✔ Make organizational decisions ✔ Enhance executive alignment ✔ Scale your leadership with precision
Understanding C-Suite Roles
You might be wondering which leadership roles you need, but here are common signs your business needs additional C-suite support:
✔ You're unclear about C-suite roles and responsibilities ✔ Your leadership structure needs definition ✔ Decision-making processes are unclear ✔ Growth is stalling due to leadership gaps ✔ You need to establish clear reporting lines
How Can I Help You?
I'm Judith Hobdell, and I help eCommerce founders clarify the difference between CEO, CFO and COO responsibilities in a growth-focused business.
Depending on your needs, I can serve as your CFO or mentor you to take ownership of the financial strategy.
Build Profit, Cash & Clarity in 3 Simple Steps
Transform your eCommerce business from profit-bleeding chaos to strategic financial clarity, without the overwhelm or guesswork.
01
Apply for Your Free Clarity Call
Let's have a real conversation about where your profit is hiding and how to reclaim it.
Complete our short questionnaire to see if you qualify for a strategic clarity session. We'll explore what's really happening behind your numbers, uncover your biggest profit opportunities, and determine if our approach is right for your business. No pressure, no fluff, just honest insights into strengthening your financial foundation.
03
Build With Clarity
Work directly with me to implement the proven Financial Clarity system that's transformed 300+ eCommerce brands.
With 24/7 access to me and strategic CFO guidance, you'll finally know exactly where your money is going, make confident decisions based on real data, and pay yourself what you're worth. No more cash flow surprises, no more profit mysteries, just clear visibility and control over your future.
02
Discover Your Hidden Profit Leaks
During our call, I'll perform a live analysis of your financial blind spots and show you exactly where money is disappearing.
You'll gain immediate insights into where to recapture hidden profit and optimize your cash flow. I'll reveal the specific areas where most eCommerce brands leak money without knowing it, and show you how the right systems can transform your business.
Jordan Barnett☑ Co-founder, Kapow Meggings ★★★★★ 5.0
Judith helped drag the accounts and analytics of our fashion ecom business out of a messy and chaotic place. She is a clear thinker, with a strong strategic mind, and is able to provide a clarity of thinking that is necessary when it comes to finance. Judith has a wealth of experience and brought not just practical hands-on implementation, but also guidance on industry benchmarks, and how to put our figures in a broader context. We spent just over 6 months cleaning up accounts and putting in place new finance streams and processes for the business. She helped kickstart the beginning of a journey we hope to move forward into future success!
William Christopher Alexander☑ Partner & Head Of eCommerce, Karma & Luck
★★★★★ 5.0
I've had the pleasure of connecting with and working together with Judith many times in the past 5 years. Judith is a natural leader when it comes to business systems implementation and management. She has a magnetic personality, which allows her to lead her team and encourages them to leverage their own resources to think creatively to solve problems. She's also a great mom, a positive spirit, and a shrewd business woman.
Hyacinth Bado☑ Head of Accountability, Enhanced Australia
★★★★★ 5.0
Judith is a great manager/mentor.Working with her is a continual learning, as she keeps sharing her skills and knowledge to the team and for the growth of the company. She always makes sure the team is working efficiently. She is intellectually resourceful and implements that knowledge to ensure the right systems are in place. I look forward to seeing our company grow under her vision and leadership. I highly recommend working with her!
Lawrence Petruzzelli☑ MDB Taxation & Business Advisor
★★★★★ 5.0
I highly recommend Judith for anything in eCommerce Judith has helped a number of my clients who run large eCommerce businesses to keep their books super clean and set up amazing A2X integrations making doing their accounts and tax super easy. I highly recommend Judith for anything in ecommerce
David☑ Founder & CEO, Gripped Fitness Audio
★★★★★ 5.0
Her analytical no BS approach to implementing systems, procedures and improving efficiencies has ensured growth which is calculated and predictable. Not to mention she is an absolute whiz when it comes to understanding the numbers side of the business coupled with marketing insights to increase profitability and decrease expenses. Truly a pleasure to work with!
Mike Michalowicz ☑ Author of Profit First
★★★★★ 5.0
Proud to report that Judith and the team are Certified in the Profit First methodology. It means they have the tools, the know how, and the experience to bring permanent profit to your business. If that is what you're looking for, you've come to the right place!
Ben Barnett ☑ Co-founder, Kapow Meggings
★★★★★ 5.0
Judith is a lightning bolt of clear thinking & decisive action. She recently started working with our eCommerce business to give us clarity in terms of financial decision making, and has been able to shed tremendous insight into what has been a daunting area for us as small business owners - financial analytics.
Judith has a wealth of expertise and is as competent deep diving into bookkeeping minutiae as she is building marketing dashboards, cashflow forecasts, and providing top level business strategy (amongst many other things!). As a small business owner it's hard to be strong across all areas of business, and for us, in terms of the financial landscape, it is very much a case of 'we don't know what we don't know'- Judith is who you want to talk to to help fix that. Highly recommend.
What You'll Walk Away With
Whether I work with you directly as your fractional CFO or guide you through mentoring, my role is to strengthen the financial leadership within your team.
With expert CFO input, you'll be able to:
✔ Define the financial role within your leadership team
✔ Connect operations, strategy, and financial goals
✔ Improve profitability across the business
✔ Make better growth decisions with clear numbers
Final Thoughts: Your Next Step TowardsSmarter Business Decisions
If your business needs clarity on executive roles, knowing the difference between CEO, CFO, and COO can transform operations.
You don’t need to wear every hat yourself. You need the right team, the right leadership focus, and a CFO who helps drive strategy alongside the CEO and COO.
What's the difference between a CEO, CFO, and COO?
While CEOs focus on overall company vision and strategy, CFOs handle financial management, and COOs oversee daily operations. CEOs make high-level business decisions, CFOs provide financial expertise and analysis, and COOs ensure efficient execution of plans.
How do CEO, CFO, and COO roles work together in business growth?
Understanding the differences between C-suite roles can help eCommerce founders improve organisational visibility, strengthen decision-making, and put scalable systems in place. By guiding you on executive team structure, management frameworks, and strategic planning, they ensure your growth is sustainable and backed by proven leadership principles.
When should a company consider adding these different executive roles?
What are the typical salary ranges for CEOs, CFOs, and COOs?
Can one person hold multiple C-suite positions in a small business?
What qualifications should I look for when hiring for these executive positions?
The collaboration between CEO, CFO, and COO is essential for sustainable growth. While a founder might handle multiple roles in the early stages, these distinct responsibilities become crucial as the business scales. The CEO focuses on vision and strategy, the CFO manages financial planning and analysis, and the COO ensures operational excellence and execution.
CEO, CFO, and COO salaries vary widely based on company size, industry, and growth stage. CEOs typically earn the most due to their ultimate responsibility for business performance. CFOs' compensation reflects their strategic financial leadership, while COOs are compensated for operational oversight. Each role includes various incentives like bonuses and equity. The real difference lies in their distinct responsibilities rather than just compensation.
Yes, but it's extremely challenging. While one person can technically handle CEO, CFO, and COO responsibilities in a smaller business, it means juggling strategic leadership, financial management, and operational oversight. This often leads to competing priorities and missed opportunities. Through mentoring, I help founders assess whether separating these roles or managing them effectively is the best path for sustainable growth.
For CEOs, look for strong leadership, strategic vision, and decision-making abilities. CFOs should have financial expertise, analytical skills, and strategic planning capabilities. COOs need operational excellence, process optimisation skills, and strong execution abilities. All three should have excellent communication skills, but their technical expertise areas differ significantly.
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