What is an executive director?

 

 

What is an executive director?

An executive director is the senior operating officer or manager of a sizeable organisation or corporation, and is often referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) when it is a for-profit company.

What does an executive director do?

This top-level leadership role encompasses all of the following key responsibilities:

• strategic planning and direction (i.e. developing and implementing the firm’s strategic plan and vision; setting goals and objectives, and ensuring they are achieved within the assigned budget; and overseeing all aspects of the organisation’s operations).
• overall management (i.e. managing staff, including hiring, training, and performance evaluations; overseeing financial management, budgeting, and fundraising; and ensuring compliance with the industry and business-relevant laws and regulations).
• board relations (i.e. working closely with the board of directors to ensure alignment and accountability; and keeping the board informed about performance and challenges).
• external communication (i.e. serving as the primary spokesperson for the firm; and building and maintaining relationships with media, partners, and other stakeholders).
• programme evaluation and crisis management (i.e. ensuring the quality and effectiveness of the firm’s programmes, products, and services; evaluating programmes and making adjustments as needed; identifying and addressing challenges and crises as these arise; and developing and implementing strategies to mitigate future risks).

What skills and qualifications should an executive director ideally bring to the position?

According to Business.LinkedIn.com, an executive director should have a great many of the following pointers under their belt:

• seven plus years of experience in senior management;
• strong experience in public relations, marketing, and fundraising;
  • knowledge of generally understood leadership and management principles;
• proven success working with a board of directors;
  • an entrepreneurial mindset, with an innovative approach to business planning and implementation;
• evidence of being a dynamic and charismatic team player, who enjoys the public face of running a big firm;
• a degree, or several, in business, human resources, or finance;
  • experience in effectively managing company budgets;
• exceptional verbal, written, and visual communication skills.

Which famous executive directors or CEOs should I be aware of, and what are they worth?

Five globally well-known executive directors and their earnings to date (as of March 2025) are listed below:

• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple – currently worth US$2.4 billion;
• Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft – currently worth US$1.4 billion;
• Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet (Google's parent company) – currently worth US$1.3 billion;
• Jeff Bezos, founder and former CEO of Amazon – currently worth
  and US$211.7 billion;
• Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX – currently worth US$327.3 billion.

Which five global executive directors have fallen from grace, and how did this happen to them?

• Paula Vennells, former Post Office CEO, fell from grace as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal, in which subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted for various accounting errors caused by the Horizon system – which was covered up during her tenure at the company;
  • Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron CEO, was convicted of fraud and insider trading during his tenure that lead to the overall collapse of Enron;
  • Alexander Haig, former US Secretary of State, resigned from his position under a cloud of accusations that included an aggressive and imperial style, and numerous foreign policy disagreements;
  • Bernard Looney, former PB CEO resigned after admitting to having a relationship with a colleague that violated company policy, and resulted in reputational damage to BP;
• Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, was charged with insider trading – leading to a loss of reputation for him and the company, and a legal conviction.

How can an executive director, or CEO, avoid becoming embroiled in such scandals, ethical lapses, or instances of poor performance?

Just a few of the proven strategies for avoiding negative publicity when based in a high-calibre role, include:

• focusing on proactive communication;
• providing strong ethical leadership to your firm;
  • building a reputation for transparency and accountability across your entire career;
• ensuring that there’s always an effective crisis management plan in place.

This article from Forbes provides more information on how to deal with negative press in a positive way.

What 10 hard and soft qualities should an executive director aim to hone?

An executive director can never rest on their laurels. According to CM Services, they need to:

• communicate clearly, openly, and often;
• listen constantly;
• ask for and act on feedback;
• think strategically and creatively at all times;
• demonstrate leadership based on accountability;
• show inclusivity and empathy;
• work diligently towards success;
• build rapport across their industry;
• keep the organisation’s vision, mission, and values front and centre in all they do;
• inspire and lead by utilising a ripple effect of positivity.

But there’s an 11^th aspect to be aware of – that of the importance of cultivating a diverse workplace.

As of 2021, 71 percent of US executive directors were white; most were 40 years and older, with the average age being 49; and 53 percent were women.

In South Africa, 91 percent of CEOs were white; the average age was 52 years; and 15 percent were women.

An executive director or CEO must always strive to look at their leadership role through a range of different lenses, and should stay up to speed on human resources-related studies – such as those revealing that diverse workplaces are 70 percent more likely to capture new markets, 1.7 times more likely to lead the market as a result of their levels of innovation; and sales revenue (of their products and services) tends to be 15-fold higher, according to smarter training platform, eduMe.

Which leadership conferences should executive directors attend?

The eight best leadership conferences to attend in 2025, are provided by the team at WorkHuman. For those unable to take the time off for international travel, attend The Global Boardroom virtually, presented by the Financial Times.

Where should I look for executive director or CEO roles, and what remuneration can I expect once hired?

The Executive Placements job portal lists an extensive range of senior positions of this nature, which can be found by searching under chief executive jobs.

Of interest: Glassdoor estimates that the average pay for an executive director in South Africa is R1 200 000 per annum, with much higher salaries being offered in Gauteng of up to R2 300 000 per annum.