Calling yourself a CEO AIBU?

[Namechange144]

Sorry I’ve name changed for this.

Went to a new local cafe yesterday with a friend I’d not seen since before Covid. She quit her corporate job at the start of lockdown and started a gym - think group classes and some personal training sessions. Not a gym you’d go to independently exercise.

We got speaking to the cafe owner about the cafe and other things and he asked us what we both did, friend said ‘I’m a CEO’, I looked slightly surprised and said ‘a CEO?’ in what I guess was a slightly questioning tone. She then responded ‘Yes it’s a chief executive officer’ , I obviously knew what it stood for but I didn’t say anything else and the convo moved on.

AIBU to think you shouldn’t really refer to yourself as a CEO unless you are one in the traditional sense? Am I behind the times here, can you be a CEO of exercise classes? Surely you’d just say I’m a PT and have my own gym.
Friend is really nice so I feel like a bit of a bitch but I can’t help but think it’s a bit of a weird thing to say and wondered if it was just me that found this a bit odd.

@Cameleongirl in that context, if they swan around referring to themselves as directors, yes, that would be embarrassing! :) But from your earlier post, I had assumed that your friend does actively work in her family's business eg as head of sales or operations director or something, and that is a perfectly valid job description even if she got the job because she's the daughter of the boss.

Another example is that over the years, in many cases where we've had building work done or got a contractor in or something, the person we initially deal with is a woman - usually the person's wife. That woman is genuinely running the business - usually doing all the admin, logistics, and finances. The fact that she's only got the job because she's shagging the boss is irrelevant - she's still doing it!

But Dr is the correct title for someone with a PhD.

I think you are confused between the title Dr and the job of a medical practitioner. Some medical practitioners and dentists also use the title Dr but it’s an honorary one.

I hear you. I have a very good friend who is very successful and has a genuine "big job" and who I love and am very proud of. But sometimes I want to bash her over the head when she's banging on and on and on about work.

YANBU to find this really awkward if you were sitting with her. It makes me squirm just thinking about it!

I also work for a US company and am a VP. I'd say the title is mid-senior-ish.

If she's a CEO, where are all the other executive officers she's chief of?

They’ll have laughed and / or rolled their eyes behind her back!

My brother is a tailor, has one small shop and employs two people. For his tax return, it is correct that he selects “company director”, and he will also select this for things like car insurance drop downs.

If you ask him what he does, he’ll say, “I’m a tailor - do you know Hughes’ Tailors on the high street? That’s my business.”

Which makes him sound rightly proud of what he’s achieved, and gives a basis for more conversation.

(made up name!)

I don’t understand why this is a topic of conversation. The real question is, why does it bother you how your ‘friend’ refers to herself?

People with PhD truly have the title but for medical doctors the title Dr is an honour title.

We have friends that do this and we secretly chuckle about it. It shows a certain naivety. They also often use "myself" inappropriately and talk about something have have "gifted". Grandeur fails

Sure. All are a deliberate attempt to mislead, though.
But you claimed... there could be no sane reason other than fraudulent. None of these reasons are for fraudulent purposes. So that's your first half-witted muppet comment dealt with. 😉
There's no misleading. If you treat all people with respect, it's not going to make any difference to your behaviour at all.

I thought you meant legitimate circumstances
That's why you made a judgement it only applied to halfwitted muppets. You're limited in your thought process.

All that said. You might be right. 🙂 Who knows, who cares? My original comment was just to say that doctor is not a protected title and if you want to call yourself that, you're perfectly entitled to. So this is Dr Melrose signing off. 😁

Utterley tw*t thing to do!

Clealry driven by social media nonsense. A CEO in true terms reports to a board of directors and makes business decisions for large companies.

I am a director, HR adviser, CEO, CFO of my own business, may start telling people that!

I would say that calling yourself the MD is an accurate description of your role, you run the company and are also the director.

Calling herself a CEO insinuates a company of a much larger scale, when in effect the only person she reports to is herself.

It is sad.

What’s odd is that if she says she’s a business owner/fitness class instructor or whatever that opens up questions and she could get new clients.
I would have asked what sort of classes she teaches and if I was interested asked her where she does it etc.

Saying she’s a CEO almost shuts down the conversation as I’d never ask what they’re the CEO of.

Are you seriously saying introducing yourself as a doctor when you aren't is not intentionally misleading?
Fraudelent is a red herring anyway; not all questionable, dodgy behaviour is actionable. Doesn't mean it's justified. Or legitimate.

PMSL at having your own business = I'm a CEO. No you're not. YANBU, you're friend's ego is writing cheques her job can't cash.

Business owner
Director

Not a ceo unless she has a board

No different to someone with a PHD calling themselves a doctor and getting their post addressed to Dr Smith etc Yes I know two friends who do this. Harmless but hilarious.

Huh?

Do you also find it hilarious when a friend gets married and starts using Mrs instead of Miss?

When you complete a PHD your title changes to Dr.

What did you think PHD stood for?

One thing I've learned is that, while it's important to have friends who will support you in hard times, it's actually much more valuable and important to have friends who will genuinely support you and be happy for you in good times. Luckily I have friends who are like that, whom I love with all my heart.

It'd be great if you could get to a point in your life where you can love someone openly and sincerely enough that if they say 'I'm a CEO' you can say 'Wow, I'm so proud of her' rather than going on mumsnet to get validation for your meanness.

It's worth getting to that point, believe me.

A friend of mine is a SAHM....she refers to herself as a managing director, which I suppose she is when you consider it.

Oh I'm equally eye rolly at any self employed sole trader calling themselves a CEO.

She most likely is a director of her company. The fact that she thinks using a title which is ludicrous in terms of a sole trader sounds more important than "I started and run my own business" is interesting. The latter description is far more likely to make me take them seriously in a business context than a meaningless bit of self puffery suggesting they don't understand the role.

It's different, if you have a PHD you are entitled to call yourself a Dr.

I know somebody who is a beauty therapist.
She used to teach a class at a college one eve a week. If anyone ever asked what
She did, she'd say teacher

Deliberately misleading imo

Ha CEO. I hate fake people like this.