Eight
The Argument for a Lead Director
RAYMOND GILMARTIN
As a retired chairman and CEO, I was very wary of the idea of a lead or presiding director. It was difficult for me to understand why a chairman and CEO, like I had been, could not lead the board. I began to understand, however, that as independent directors became more active and influential in major companies, it was important for them to have a leader who was not also the CEO. On the boards on which I was serving, the directors were not in favor of separating the roles of chairman and CEO. Instead, they opted for a lead or presiding director (I soon came to realize that the two titles were interchangeable). Then, when I found myself selected to this position on the boards of two major ...
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