What does the chairman do?

Answer 1

A Chairman has numerous duties, each dependent on the company he/she chairs and the board charter (governing rules of the board).

For the most part the Chairman is the moderator of the board meeting. It is up to the Chairman of the Board to lead the board members from their initial varying points of view or decisions to making a decision in the best interests of the company, organization, or political group. The Chairman must also preside over the meeting itself and ensure the meeting is not too long, off topic, or otherwise unproductive.

In many instances the Chairman of the Board is also the company's CEO (Chief Executive Officer). In this case the Chairman/CEO conducts the meetings and also manages the entire company/corporation/organization to achieve the goals and strategies set by the board. There have been voices rumoring the combination of the two positions may be poor judgment because it illicits too much power in a single person.

Overall the Chairman is a leader. In general the Board of Directors will create the overarching direction of the organization, the Chairman will work with the CEO to address this direction, and the CEO will impliment the actions in the company necessary to achieve the direction.

Sort of like this;

.........................Board of Directors........................

....................................|........................................

................(Intended Direction for Corp)..................

....................................|........................................

.....................Chairman of the Board.....................

....................................|........................................

....(Assisting CEO with Direction Implimentation)....

....................................|........................................

..................................CEO.....................................

.................................../|\.......................................

................................./..|.\......................................

......................Company/Organization.....................