What is a Board of Directors, and what do they do?

A Board of Directors (BoD) is body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization.

The BoD are representatives of the stockholders to establish corporate management-related policies and to make decisions on major company issues. Such issues include the hiring/firing of executives, dividend policies, options policies, executive compensation, as well as the company vision and mission.

Every public company or registered corporation must have a Board of Directors. The Board is legally responsible for running the company.