"C.E.O." vs "Chairman"

Does anyone know what the difference is between these two titles at the Walt Disney Company?

I was wondering how Eisner's job has changed (and what kind of control he has now) since one of his titles was taken away...

Just curious.

After doing a quick Google search, I got this only link (http://slate.msn.com/id/1004361/) about what you're looking for.

"The CEO is a company's top decision-maker, and all other executives answer to him or her. The CEO typically delegates many of the tactical responsibilities to other managers, focusing instead on strategic issues, such as which markets to enter, how to take on the competition, and which companies to form partnerships with."

"The chairman of a company is the head of its board of directors. The board is elected by shareholders and is responsible for protecting investors' interests, such as the company's profitability and stability. It usually meets several times a year to set long-term goals, review financial results, evaluate the performance of high-level managers, and vote on important strategic moves proposed by the CEO........But he or she does not necessarily play an active role in everyday management."

Click on the link if you wanna read the whole article.

Although it is not a perfect analogy, one way to get the basic idea is to look at the CEO as a company's equivalent to the President of the US and the Chairman-of-the-board as an equivalent to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

-Jeff

In the most general terms, the CEO runs the company and the Chairman runs the entity that oversees the company, the Board. This can vary widely from company to company. Some companies have separate President, CEO and Chairman, some companies have one person who holds all three positions, some two.

I've seen Chairman who mainly just preside over the Board meetings and beyond that have no real responsibilities beyond any other director. I've also seen Chairman who are very hands on and can be considered a member of management. Sometimes CEOs are "retired" to the position of Chairman of the Board as a way of getting rid of them.

Originally posted by EandCDad
Sometimes CEOs are "retired" to the position of Chairman of the Board as a way of getting rid of them. Hrmm, looks like Disney got that one backwards.

Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
Hrmm, looks like Disney got that one backwards.

Usually, they have to have someone who can step in as CEO in order to make that work. Disney, obviously, has no one, so moving Eisner to Chairman with no one to replace him as CEO would be a bad move (especially with a hostile takeover looming.) Eisner, of course, is the reason they don't have anyone ready to take over, but the Board is also to blame. They should have put together a succession plan years ago.

A CEO is the "big boss" of the company in question. That person operates the company at the highest levels. If you manufacture shoes, for instance, you have to keep the factories running and safe, innovate design changes, keep up with trends and changing technology in that industry, monitor markets, respond to changing economic and market competition and conditions, advertise, and make sure the company stays profitable.

In a publicly traded company the Board oversees a CEO, makes sure the company is operating profitably, advises on broad longer term business trends and situations. One hopes the Board advises the CEO in good faith and good justice on how to run the company in a profitable, legal and ethical manner. The Chairman is the elected person who leads that Board, presides over meetings, organizes committees and reports.