Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO): that sacred and secret relationship

The attention given to corporate governance has engendered little inquiry into one critical aspect of boardroom dynamics – the Chairman/CEO relationship. The reasons for the lack of attention to the Chairman/CEO dyad are highlighted, as well as the board and organisational performance reasons for maintaining role separation or entering into duality. Due to the poverty of understanding the effect of the Chairman/CEO relationship, a qualitative study was undertaken from which four themes emerged – Chairman’s role and contribution, nature of the Chair/CEO relationship, impact of the Chair/CEO relationship on board effectiveness, and the attributes of an effective Chairman. It is concluded that formative context is a determining factor in the development of this fundamental relationship which, in turn, has a profound impact on boardroom effectiveness.