Armchair CEO

American Slang

Definition

A person who confidently opines on how companies should be run without holding real leadership authority or experience, typically from the sidelines or online.

Examples

"Another armchair CEO on Reddit is lecturing real founders about how they should restructure their teams."

"My cousin has never managed a team, but on X he’s an armchair CEO, prescribing layoffs and pivots for every company he sees."

"I’m tired of armchair CEOs in the comments insisting they could turn around a Fortune 500 overnight from their couch."