Chair
The chair, or chairman, is the person who leads a company's board of directors, setting its agenda, running its meetings and acting as the main link between the board and the chief executive.
The chair leads the board of directors. The role is to run the board well: setting agendas, making sure directors have the information they need, leading discussions to clear decisions, and working closely with the CEO between meetings. The chair does not usually manage the company day to day. That is the CEO’s job.
In some companies, particularly in the United States, one person holds both roles. In others, the roles are separated so the board can oversee management more independently.
In many family businesses the founder is both chair and CEO for decades. When the time comes to hand over, a common arrangement is for the successor to become CEO while the founder stays on as chair. It can work well: the founder keeps a meaningful role and the successor gains a supportive presence at the top.
It can also cause trouble. If the founder-chair keeps making operational decisions, or if managers keep bringing questions to the chair instead of the CEO, the successor’s authority is undermined in every meeting. Should the founder stay as chairman? weighs the options.
Chair or chairman emeritus?
A chair has real authority over the board. A chairman emeritus is an honorary title for a former chair, usually with no vote and no formal power. Some families use the emeritus role to recognise a founder who is stepping back fully.
Why it matters for the successor
Whoever holds the chair shapes how the board treats the new CEO. A chair who backs the successor in public, and raises disagreements in private, gives them room to lead. Agreeing in advance how the chair and the successor will handle disagreement is one of the most useful parts of any handover.