Why the CEO Shouldn’t Also Be the Board Chair

The second reason I think it’s a bad idea is because the CEO ultimately does not have that many jobs, but I think culture is among them. And it ought not be delegated. Briefly speaking, I think there are five top responsibilities of a CEO: being the steward of and final arbiter of the senior management; being the chief strategist; being the primary

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Of course, board members aren’t running the company day-to-day. The CEO needs to gather their own data and reach an independent conclusion. Board members might overestimate early successes in a way that founders won’t. Or, Schlosser notes, when things are going badly, “the board may overshoot quickly and cut quickly or move people out quickly.” Ide

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The board of directors is the most important part of a startup’s management structure. The direction the startup takes will depend in many ways on the board’s decisions, from fundraising and acquisitions to who belongs in the C-suite and what the budget limits should be.

Notionally the role the CEO is to run the company the role of the Chairman is to manage the CEO and the board. However, in practice the relationship between the Chairman and CEO is so much more than that. The ideal Chairman is a mentor, coach, and critical friend. The ideal CEO is open, coachable, and responsive. The quality of their relationship c... See more