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Executive director is commonly the title of thechief executive officer (CEO) of a company, anon-profit organization,government agency orinternational organization.
It generally has the same meaning as CEO ormanaging director.
The title may also be used by a member of aboard of directors for acorporation, such as acompany,cooperative ornongovernmental organization, who usually holds a specific managerial position with the corporation. In this context the role is usually contrasted with anon-executive director who usually holds no executive, managerial role with the corporation, but purely an advisory role.
There is much national and cultural variation in the exact definition of an executive director.
The title is used for the chief executive officer of several UN agencies, such asUN Women.
The title is widely used in North Americannot-for-profit organizations, though many United States nonprofits have adopted the titlepresident or CEO.[1]
Confusion can arise because the wordsexecutive anddirector occur both in this title and in titles of various members of some organizations' boards of directors.
In the US nonprofit sector, the executive director role is the highest ranking position within the organization. It corresponds to a CEO position in a for-profit corporation.
The role of the executive director is to design, develop and implement strategic plans for the organization in a manner that is both cost and time-efficient. The executive director is also responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization, which includes managing committees and staff as well as developing business plans in collaboration with the board. In essence, the board grants the executive director the authority to run the organization. The executive director is accountable to the board of directors and reports to the board on a regular basis as defined by the organization's bylaws. The board sets the vision through a high-level strategic plan, but it is the role of the executive director to create implementation plans that support the strategic plan.
The executive director is aleadership role for an organization and often fulfills amotivational role in addition to office-based work. Executive directors motivate and mentor members, volunteers, and staff, and may chair meetings. The executive director leads the organization and develops itsorganizational culture.[2]
In the UK, an executive director is a member of a board who is also an employee with a senior role. It is common for boards to have several executive directors, e.g. for different departments.
There is no legal difference between an executive and anon-executive director (NXD or NED), but there are considerable differences in the expectations associated with the role.[3]