Morpheus, Pea Brain, Big Cheese: 13 crazy corporate titles

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COMMENTARY Chief Strategy Officer. Chief Privacy Officer. Chief People Officer. These are a few "chief" titles analyzed in the recent Forbes.com piece C Is For Silly: The New C-Suite Titles. The article questions whether any of these titles really mean anything. It got me wondering -- what are the wackiest titles out there? Here are 13 that are off-the-charts. What do you think? Are these fun, catchy and motivating to the people who bear them -- or just simply silly?

Barry Weinstein, sleepEO of Pillowcase Studies
"I'm the president of the company, and since we sell fun pillow cases I needed to reflect the purpose of the company," says Weinstein.

Seth Goldman, TeaEO, Honest Tea
Goldman founded Honest Tea in 1998. "Seth wanted his title to reflect what was most important about his job -- the tea, and thus was named the 'TeaEO,' " says a company spokesperson.

Kelly Parthen, Pea Brain, Bean Sprouts cafe
Parthen is the "visionary" of this healthy, kid-friendly cafe in Chicago.

Mark Davidson, Morpheus, SaveonBrew
This website shares beer sales by ZIP code across the country -- and Mark "puts events in motion."

Steve Richardson, Chief Tormenter, Stave Puzzles
Richardson founded this Vermont-based jigsaw puzzle company and become known as "Chief Tormentor" by his customers calling for help.

John Goodman, Worker Bee of John Goodman PR
"What better title to describe my Media/Public Relations business?" says Goodman.

Kaely Butterfied, Social Network Princess, seenBEST Web Design
Butterfied spearheads social media for this Phoenix-based firm, and even wears a tiara to seminars and in corporate videos.

Michael Daniels, Rebel Commander, Outlook Media
Every member of the team at Outlook, a progressive GLBT media company in Ohio, has a not-so-serious name. Says Daniels: "I'm the co-owner who handles sales, partnerships, and business development. I am that one little guy...working to make sure that our voices are heard amid the din of the Empire -- i.e., generic mass media."

Jonathan Litt, Director of Fun, Gala Corp.
According to Christine Picchietti, Vice President at this restaurant franchisee (Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and Famous Dave's BBQ in California), Litt "manages operations for the company's restaurant locations." He also "[keeps] everyone in a positive mood."

Eva Y. Wong, Minister of Enlightenment, The Republic of Tea
Wong, who heads the PR efforts for this tea company says: "In keeping with its whimsical identity as an independent Republic, the company designates its employees as Ministers, sales representatives as Ambassadors, consumers as Citizens and sales outlets as Embassies."

Chad J. Kiser, Chief Awesomater, The Gig Bureau and GigSalad.com
Kiser says he toils in a number of positions: "staff writer, social media 'expert,' media development and public relations/promotions....I'm Chief Awesomator because I"m in charge of creating the Awesome."

Heddi Cundle, Big Cheese, myTab.co
The founder and CEO of this tech company says hers isn't the only unusual name: "Our CFO is 'Number Cruncher', etc."

Jenn Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer of Professional Lunacy (CEO-PF), Girls In Real Life
Hoffman just started her PR job with this company that connects bloggers with brands and was given this unusual title. "Very different than my previous titles of "Senior Account Executive" and Director of PR at my previous PR Firms and other Media entities I worked for," says Hoffman.

Clearly, for the people bearing these titles, they are motivating and meaningful. But what about you? Would you want to be "Chief Awesomater" or "Rebel Commander?" Or do you already have an interesting title? If so, please share it in the comments.

[shortyj100]

heh, we use made-up titles informally sometimes, since I work for a huge corporation and titles are standardized. So almost my entire department has the same job title even though our actual duties are very different.

My fake title of Ninja Rock Star was actually given to me by two of my clients--ninja because, well, I'm Japanese, and I get things done quickly and quietly without fuss, and rock star because I have a knack for doing things people aren't sure can actually be done. I also kinda love the incongruity of those two terms next to each other, not gonna lie.

[asperber21]

I keep trying to ask my boss if I can be the Chief Geek since I handle all of the social media and tech clients.

One of our clients, Online Trading Academy, has a Chief Knowledge Officer who is the primary spokesperson for the company. http://www.tradingacademy.com.

[adamklein1]

One of our longtime clients is The Life is good Company. There are a number of fun titles for the leaders of this optimistic apparel and lifestyle brand that are in line with one the company's three values — a sense of humor. Here are some examples:

Bert Jacobs is the Chief Executive Optimist and Co-founder of Life is good.
John Jacobs is Chief Creative Optimist and Co-founder.
James, Macdonald is the Director of Good Vibes responsible for making the Boston-based lifestyle brand come alive at its annual fundraising and music festivals.
Steven Gross is the Chief Playmaker for the Life is good Kids Foundation. As Chief Playmaker, Steven oversees the Life is good Playmakers, the action arm of the Life is good Kids Foundation.
You can learn more atwww.lifeisgood.com.

[BylineBetty]

These fun titles really enrich the company culture! We at The Betty Brigade, an Ann Arbor-based concierge company, choose our own nicknames, too. I write the content and newsletters, so I'm "Byline Betty." We call the boss and owner, Sharon McRill, "Alpha Betty."

[Christopher_Lochhead]

I'm "The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla" at Play Bigger Advisors. My partners & i all have fun titles. It's memorable, sets a playful tone when we meet new people. and if the fun haters don't like us, then we don't want to work with 'em!

[CareerHappinessGirl_111]

At CareerBliss we love Heidi Golledge our Chief Happiness Officer (and co-founder). Located in Irvine, California we are an online career community that helps employees find their career happiness.

What title means: Treating people as YOU want to be treated and finding folks a better life through a better job. The key to achieving happiness in work is finding an environment that allows people to excel at what they do best.

www.careerbliss.com

[FamZoo]

I'm "Chief Dad" at FamZoo.com since we're parents who have built a site for other parents to help them teach their kids good money habits. Business card here: http://flic.kr/p/89jGGA

[ExcelRainMan]

I have found that a title can be both creative AND still manage to depict someone's actual job responsibilities. I also believe that this approach makes you and your business a bit more approachable.

I laugh sometimes when I think of myself as the "Excel Rain Diva" or a "Spreadsheeter" for www.ExcelRainMan.com, but check out what these people call themselves ...and here I thought my job title was unique!

[SBW579]

Ok, Amy as you requested...! :) cute story and we're happy to join the fun! - I'm CEO (Creative Energy Officer) my husband is also CEO of our small business Bodacious Enterprises- (although he is Chief Excentric Officer) ... with those titles- kinda sums it up! We are also within this business, Vice Presidents handling all Marketing and Sales for American's latest innovation for better sleep... Goodnighties Recovery Sleepwear (goodnighties(dot) com) truly a simple solution for better sleep! it's all in the fabric! :) Sarah

[detmich]

My official title is Proprietress. It's on my business cards.

A proprietress is my own term for a woman who owns a business, and has duties that go beyond "owner." In a small business, a proprietress is the salesperson, janitor, bookkeeper, merchandiser, buyer, manager, carpenter, and any other job title rolled into one.

-The Proprietress of the Peacock Room in Detroit, MI.