A board of directors is a group of individuals that supervise strategic planning and decision-making in accordance with the company’s goals vision, mission, and values. Boards are accountable for balancing the interests of shareholders, maintaining integrity, and planning for the future of the company.
An executive committee is a subset of the board, which is responsible for urgent matters and functions as a steering wheel for the board. It is typically comprised of three https://boardroomsupply.com/ members: a treasurer, secretary, vice-chairperson and chairperson. The chairperson is the chief of the committee, and is often the CEO and vice-chairperson assists the chairman, acts as a substitute for them when they are not present and serves as a second-in command. The secretary keeps minutes, maintains the committee’s calendar and makes sure that all members have access to important documents.
By design an executive committee is a small group. They are more agile and are able to meet on short notice to take decisions in the event of an emergency. This allows the board to concentrate their meetings on more important issues.
An executive committee could also handle a variety of routine issues and act as an alternative to the organization in instances that the board is not required to be present, for instance, standard legal or financial procedures. It can be used to test controversial ideas and determine how the organization responds to them prior to presenting it to the board. However, the committee should not be a second-tier structure of power and it’s an ideal idea to have clear delegation of power as well as an internal set of checks and balances.