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CEO CTO Responsibility Agreement

Create a practical role draft for legal and governance review before title ambiguity becomes operating conflict.

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CEO and CTO cofounders who need clearer accountability across company, product, commercial, and technical work.

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The downloaded Word file includes the same sections below, so you can review the structure before saving it.

1. Company outcomes

Shared company outcomes keep the roles connected so functional ownership does not become competing agendas.

  • Current company milestone: [Outcome and date]
  • Customer outcome: [Metric]
  • Financial or runway outcome: [Metric]
  • Technical reliability outcome: [Metric]

2. CEO ownership

Explicit CEO ownership clarifies accountability for company direction and external commitments without implying unlimited authority.

  • Strategy and financing responsibilities: [Scope]
  • Sales and partnership responsibilities: [Scope]
  • People and operating responsibilities: [Scope]
  • CEO authority boundaries: [Limits]

3. CTO ownership

Explicit CTO ownership protects technical judgment while connecting architecture and engineering decisions to company needs.

  • Architecture and platform responsibilities: [Scope]
  • Engineering delivery responsibilities: [Scope]
  • Security and reliability responsibilities: [Scope]
  • CTO authority boundaries: [Limits]

4. Shared decisions

Naming shared decisions prevents one function from committing the other to irreversible cost, timing, or risk.

  • Product strategy decisions: [Approval rule]
  • Senior hiring decisions: [Approval rule]
  • Major budget decisions: [Threshold]
  • Security or contractual commitments: [Approval rule]

5. Operating handoffs

Defined handoffs reduce dropped context between customer promises, product choices, and engineering delivery.

  • Sales-to-product handoff: [Inputs and owner]
  • Product-to-engineering handoff: [Inputs and owner]
  • Incident-to-customer handoff: [Process]
  • Decision record and update channel: [Location]

6. Role review

Role review matters because the right founder responsibilities change as the team hires leaders and the company matures.

  • Scheduled review cadence: [Dates]
  • Review triggers: [Funding, hiring, product stage]
  • Evidence used: [Outcomes and feedback]
  • Approval for role amendments: [Authority]

Legal disclaimer

This draft is informational and is not legal advice. Have qualified counsel review it for the company's governance documents and jurisdiction before adoption or signature.

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CEO CTO Responsibility Agreement FAQ

When should CEO and CTO founders formalize responsibilities?

Do it before major hiring, fundraising, or customer commitments make unclear authority costly to the company and the relationship.

Who should participate in the CEO CTO role agreement?

Both founders must shape it, while the board and qualified counsel should review any terms that affect formal officer or governance authority.

What is the biggest CEO CTO responsibility risk?

Titles can mask overlapping product authority, causing conflicting promises and resentment unless shared decisions and boundaries are specific.

Legal disclaimer

This template is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or professional advice. Laws and enforceability vary by jurisdiction. Have any final agreement reviewed by a qualified professional before signing.