| chairman vs. president chairman of the board heads the regulatory board; president is the 'head of the company'
Explanation:
The function of the chairman of the board is clearly defined: he or she heads the board of directors, which regulates the company but is not involved in the actual operation of the company.
'President' is a title that essentially means 'the head of a company'. Particularly with medium-sized and large companies, it is often essentially honorific (i.e. it does not have any specifically defined functions), so one often sees combinations such as 'President and CEO' or 'President and COO', where 'CEO' and 'COO' do have well-defined functions.
It's perfectly possible for the chairman of the board to also be the president of a company, but IMO it's more common for an executive to hold that title. In relatively small companies in North America, it is quite common for a single person to hold the positions of CEO and Chairman of the Board as well as the title 'President'.
refs:
Chief executive officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A chief executive officer (CEO) or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or executive officer of a corporation, company, or agency.
In the United States the CEO may also be the chairman of the board or the company president in small businesses, but these roles are often separated in larger organizations, to prevent the company from becoming dominated by a single personality, and to prevent a conflict of interest against the owners (the shareholders).
In the European Union there is a stipulation that the chief executive and the chairman of the board be separate functions. This ensures a distinction between governance and management and allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person.
In the United Kingdom many Charities and Government Agencies are headed by a Chief Executive who is answerable to a Board of Trustees or Board of Directors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer
President
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referred to the presiding officer of a ceremony or meeting (i.e. chairman); but today it most commonly refers to an official with executive powers.
...
President is also used as a title in some non-governmental organizations. The head of a university or non-profit corporation, particularly in the United States of America, is often known as president. President is also a title in many corporations. In some cases the president acts as chief operating officer under the direction of the chief executive officer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President
CEO/President of a Division, Region or Unit - The CEO or President of any owned or affiliated division, region, subsidiary, or other company unit that is covered by Hoover's. Examples of titles with this code are President, Wal-Mart Asia/Pacific; President, Wireless Division; and President, Catalog and Internet.
Chairman - The Board of Directors member who oversees board meetings.
President - The corporate President of an organization. The actual duties of this person often vary by company. Often, the President title is used in place of CEO in smaller companies. Also, many companies combine the title President with CEO or COO. See the function code CEO/President of a Division, Region or Unit to find Presidents who oversee the operations of a company's divisions, subsidiaries, etc.
http://www.hoovers.com/business-information/--pageid__13568-...
| Ken Cox
Local time: 06:38
Works in field
Native speaker of:  English
PRO pts in category: 36
|
|
peer agreement (net): +4