Answering that question is like trying to spear Jell-O on a wall. Presidents occupy a nebulous position within corporate leadership: Sometimes, they’re the CEO’s No. 2. Other times, they’re bundled in with the CEO and chairman positions (you’re probably not surprised to find out that’s Jeff Bezos’s setup at Amazon). And sometimes...the president doesn’t exist at all.
To understand No. 2, let’s start with No. 1. The CEO is the highest-ranking exec and the public face of a company. They’re responsible for setting the long-term vision, mission, and strategy. They liaise with the board of directors, make sure the ship is on schedule and course, and pray to the regulatory gods they don’t have to kowtow up to Capitol Hill.
Now to the president
Assuming the president is 1) existent and 2) distinct from the CEO, they generally oversee day-to-day operations, like making sure a new product gets launched on time.
- In other words, they convert the CEO’s vision into reality. They might be managing the managers, setting objectives for different business units, and lubricating operations.
- They’re also probably keeping a close eye on the CEO’s back, if you get what we’re saying.
A company can have more than one president, as is often the case for corporations with multiple subsidiaries, and it’s not uncommon to see the COO and president roles mashed together.
Step into the spotlight
Just because a president isn’t top dog doesn’t mean they’re invisible. Just look at Microsoft President Brad Smith, who even with a name like Brad Smith has managed to stand out from the crowd.
Smith joined the company in 1993, so he’s been there long enough to remember the OG Big Tech antitrust case against Microsoft and Clippy. In 2015, he became the company’s first president in 13 years. He's also Microsoft's chief legal officer.
Aside from the typical day-to-day (representing the company in high-profile litigious beefs, negotiating with foreign governments), Smith has emerged as a thought leader in the fields of artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and data privacy—and he’s also planted a flag in other prominent debates, like immigration and sustainability.
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