The president of a company is a business' leader. They will usually be company employees and will be responsible for directing the business and its other employees. 

What is a Company President?

The company president is an employee whose main duty is leading the business. Other entities besides businesses employ presidents, including:

  • Government agencies
  • Unions
  • Universities

In the chain of command of an organization, the president is usually at the very top. President can also refer to a job title. The purpose of this title is to indicate that the person is the leader of the entire organization or one part of the organization. For example, if a parent corporation owns several smaller companies, each company may have its own president.

In certain cases, the president would not be the top person in the organization. Instead, this position would be filled by a CEO who the president would report to. However, some organizations choose to have a single person fill both of these roles. Sometimes, the president and CEO of a company will also be the person that owns the company and may be its founder. If this is the case, the president and CEO would have a deep commitment to the business. 

Depending on the company, the person in charge can have a variety of different titles:

  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
  • Chairman
  • President

Regardless of his or her title, the president will almost always be the top person in the company and will have a variety of responsibilities that he or she will need to fulfill. The president's main goal will be to direct the actions of the company's employees. In many cases, the president will also act as a manager, making sure the day-to-day company operations run smoothly. 

Company President Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a company president can be vast. For example, one of the primary roles of the president is developing a vision for the organization, communicating this vision to the employees, and then implementing the vision. They will need to make sure that every employee is responsible for fulfilling this vision and that they are a vital part of the business.

A president will also be in charge of leading other company executives, including vice presidents and directors. The number of executives the president will be in charge of guiding will mostly depend on the company's size.

To effectively run the company, the president will need to regularly meet with the executive team. During these meetings, the president will ensure that every company decision has been thought out fully and that the executive team has an opportunity to express their ideas for the company. These meetings can also be used to developing a strategy for impressing on every employee his or her duties within the organization.

Developing and instituting a plan for the business's direction is another important responsibility of the company president. While developing this plan, the president should request input from employees, which can help make sure the plan actually reflects the needs of the business. Staffing the organization can also be a responsibility of the president, although larger corporations will often have another person assume this role.

The president will also need to regularly evaluate the company's success. If the president finds that the company isn't succeeding as fully as possible, they will need to reevaluate the direction of the business and come up with a solution for getting back on track. Finally, but most importantly, the president must make sure that everyone is aware of the competitive landscape both inside and outside the company. He or she should be looking for opportunities to attract new customers, branch into new markets, and expand the company. 

President vs. CEO

There are some differences between the president of a company and the CEO. For example, the president is sometimes referred to as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), whereas the CEO is the Chief Executive Officer. While COOs and CEOs are similar in some ways, there are important differences, including the scope of their responsibilities.

The CEO, for example, is mostly concerned with heading the Board of Directors. Usually, the CEO will be the chairman of the board, and they may also be the company's public face. The focus of the CEO is one the overarching concerns of the company, including long-term performance. In contrast, presidents mostly work on daily operations.

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