What the C-suite is
The C-suite is the executive layer that reports to the chief executive and, through them, to the board. The shared trait is not seniority for its own sake. It is that each seat carries a whole function and is accountable for the outcome of that function, rather than for a set of tasks inside it.
In an Australian startup or scale-up the suite is usually smaller than the textbook version. A business at Series A might run a CEO, a CTO and a finance leader who is not yet called CFO, and that is a perfectly healthy structure. Titles get added when the work genuinely needs an owner, not to fill out an org chart.
The core roles, and what each one owns
These are the titles you will see most often, and the honest one-line version of what each is actually for.
| Role | What the seat owns | |
|---|---|---|
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer | The direction of the whole business and the performance of the executive team. Answers to the board for everything else on this list. |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer | Capital, reporting and the financial consequence of every strategic decision. At its best, a commercial partner to the CEO rather than a reporting function. |
| COO | Chief Operating Officer | How the business actually runs day to day. Usually the seat that turns strategy into delivery, and the one whose scope varies most between companies. |
| CTO / CIO | Chief Technology / Information Officer | The product and engineering build in a technology business, or the internal systems estate in a traditional one. The two titles solve different problems. |
| CMO | Chief Marketing Officer | Demand, brand and the go-to-market story. In a scale-up this often sits alongside or under a chief revenue officer. |
The list gets longer as businesses grow: chief people officer, chief revenue officer, chief product officer. The principle does not change. A seat exists when there is enough of that work to need an owner at the executive table.
The CFO seat is the one I know best
Of these, the CFO is the seat I recruit for, so it is the one I can speak about with any real authority. The role transcends financial reporting. It covers strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input, and if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.[1]
That is not a soft observation, it is the thing that most often decides whether the hire works. A modern CFO is a commercial executive partnering directly with the CEO on strategy, capital decisions and where the business goes next.[2] The finance craft is assumed at that level. The differentiator is judgement and the relationship it operates through.
If you want the full breakdown of the CFO remit rather than the one-line version, I set out what the role actually covers here.
Why the relationships matter more than the titles
I had a conversation recently with a CFO about a Head of Finance hire who left within nine months. Strong qualifications, no question about the technical ability. They could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with Operations, and that was enough to end it.[3]Nothing on the CV predicted that outcome.
So my advice to anyone interviewing for a C-suite finance seat is to take the chemistry seriously. If something about the CEO's communication, decision-making or energy sits badly with you during the process, do not talk yourself out of it. Chemistry is not a nice-to-have at this level, it is a must-have, and whatever you notice in an interview usually intensifies once you are in the role.[4]
The same logic runs the other way. When leadership changes, the whole philosophy of the business shifts, and finance feels it in concrete ways: centralised versus decentralised reporting, risk appetite, capital expenditure approvals, performance expectations, headcount decisions, and how closely the CFO works with the rest of the executive.[5] The title on the door stays the same. The job does not.
Where this sits in a growing business
For founders reading this from the other side, the practical question is not which titles to create but when the finance seat needs to exist at all. In the businesses I work with that is usually a first finance hire somewhere around ten to twenty people, and a first genuine CFO later, once the business is past fifty people and eight figures of revenue.
Appointing a CFO before there is CFO-sized work is how you end up with an expensive person doing a controller's job and leaving inside a year. The seat should follow the complexity, not announce it.
If you are weighing up the timing for your own business, I go through the signals that say you are ready for a CFO here.
Common questions
What does C-suite mean?
The C-suite is the group of most senior executives in a business, where the C stands for Chief: CEO, CFO, COO, CTO and so on. What the seats have in common is that each one carries a whole function and is accountable to the chief executive and the board for the outcome of that function, rather than for a set of tasks within it.
What are the main C-suite roles?
The core set is CEO (direction of the business), CFO (capital, reporting and the financial consequence of strategy), COO (how the business runs day to day), CTO or CIO (product and engineering, or internal systems) and CMO (demand, brand and go-to-market). Larger businesses add chief people, revenue and product officers. In an Australian startup the suite is usually much smaller, and seats get added when the work genuinely needs an owner.
How is the CFO different from the other C-suite roles?
The CFO is the seat that has to hold a view on every other function, because every decision has a financial consequence. In practice the role goes well beyond financial reporting into strategic advice, challenging decisions and commercial input. The relationship with the CEO is central: if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability counts for very little.
Do C-suite titles matter in a startup?
Less than founders tend to think. A Series A business running a CEO, a CTO and a finance leader who is not yet called CFO is a perfectly healthy structure. Titles are worth creating when there is genuinely enough of that work to need an owner at the executive table. Appointing a CFO before there is CFO-sized work usually produces an expensive hire doing a controller's job, and they rarely stay long.
References
- Tom Hunter on the CFO remit: the role transcends financial reporting and covers strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input; if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.
- Tom Hunter on the CFO roles Story Recruitment works on: commercial executive leadership positions partnering directly with the CEO on strategy, capital decisions and the next steps for the business.
- Tom Hunter, recounting a conversation with a CFO about a Head of Finance hire who left within nine months despite strong qualifications, because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with Operations.
- Tom Hunter's advice to candidates for CFO and senior finance roles: do not ignore discomfort with a CEO's communication, decision-making or energy during interviews. Chemistry is not a nice-to-have at this level, it is a must-have, and the discomfort usually intensifies in the role.
- Tom Hunter on leadership change: when leadership changes the philosophy of the business shifts, with real consequences for centralised versus decentralised reporting, risk appetite, capital expenditure approvals, performance expectations, headcount decisions and the CFO's engagement with the executive team.