Split first two chief operators (4)
I believe the answer is:
chop
'split' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'two chief operators' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'chief' could be 'ch' (abbreviation) and 'ch' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'op' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'first' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chop that I've seen before include "Cut of meat; hack" , "Cut into small pieces" , "Cutting blow" , "Cutlet" , "Abolish, cut of meat" .)