Board of Directors

• Author: Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps

Page 68

A group of people comprising the governing body of a corporation.

The shareholders of a corporation hold an election to choose people who have been nominated to direct or manage the corporation as a board. In the past nearly all states required that at least three directors run a corporation. The laws have changed, however, since many corporations have only one or two shareholders and therefore require only one or two directors to serve on the board.

Directors are elected at the first annual meeting of shareholders and at each successive annual meeting for one-year terms, unless they are divided into classes. In a corporation that divides its directors into classes, called a classified board, conditions are often imposed concerning the minimum size of the board, the minimum number of directors to be elected annually, and the maximum number of classes or maximum terms. The purpose of a classified board, which is expressly permitted by most statutes, is to make takeover attempts more difficult by staggering the terms of the directors.

Removal of a director during the course of his or her term may occur for cause by shareholders or by the board itself if there is a provision in the bylaws or articles of incorporation that confers such power upon them. The removal of a director for cause is reviewable by a court. Many jurisdictions have put into effect statutes that...