Based on your post, I am going to make an assumption (that could be totally wrong) that you are the lead/primary investor or owner of this company, and that there is little (if any) outside investors or related "interested parties".
You are only "giving up" as much as you want to. Within the corporate hierarchy, the CEO is typically the top level position, which all other department ends report into. The CEO makes the day to day decisions of the business, including managing strategic goals, partnerships, and growth plans.
At the same time, there is often a board of directors, which represents the owners of the company in proportion to the stock shares they hold. The board therefore can ultimately vote or veto anything that goes on in the company, since they are the TRUE owners, for whom ALL other employees (including the CEO) ultimately report to.
Assuming you are the primary stock holder, you would also be Chairman of the Board, and would still have final say over any core decision of the CEO.
The more important (and more difficult) thing is to find a CEO who shares your general vision and has the capacity to execute on all of the details. If you have a mutual respect for each other and the same goals in mind, him deciding to fire you should hold the same odds as him (or her) suddenly deciding to pivot into the vending machine business... It should never even be a remote consideration.
In order to attract a really good CEO, you are going to need to give that person the latitude to operate, and understand that they will likely have different ideas than you in some cases, or may take a different path towards the same end. Outwardly into the company, it needs to be clear to all other employees that this person is in control, and that they cannot run to you as a backstop for anything less that what might be considered clear and indisputable incompetence by this person.
Just as you don't really get a kick out of being CEO, the CEO will not have any desire to replace your position, unless it seems that YOU are the weak spot in the organization. But you can protect yourself somewhat by ensuring that you maintain majority stock ownership and/or some kind of preferred voting rights. You may sometimes have clauses to the extent that "key" decisions on executive hirings and firings cannot be made without a majority vote or unanimous vote, but this is fraught with its own complications.
So, you will certainly give up some authority, which is what it seems you really want. If you have any particular "sacred cows", those should be discussed and agreed upon immediately. You should not run the risk of being fired, both by way of maintaining control of stock, and by hiring the right person, and continuing to be a high-value employee of your own right.
