A board of directors is a group of people elected or appointed to help oversee a company's activities. Directors of companies oversee executive compensation, financial activities, governance and leadership activities. Finding directors of companies is a moderately easy activity, requiring some research.
Search a company's investor relations web site or hard copy investor relations materials to find a detailed list and biographies of the members of its board of directors. An investor relations web site usually links from the company's main corporate web site; you may obtain a hard copy of the company's investor relations materials by contacting the company directly and asking to speak with investor relations staff.
Find directors of companies by exploring the leadership section of company web sites. Some companies will provide detailed background information about the members of its board of directors directly on its corporate web site--most corporate leadership sections contain information about both the executive staff, as well as its directors.
Locate directors of companies by requesting a copy of the company's annual report, either online or in hard copy. All companies--most notably publicly-owned ones--publish an annual report to detail the company's activities over the past year. Included in these annual reports is information about the executive team and the company's directors.
Search for directors of companies by using resources developed by the professional association that represents corporate directors. The National Association of Corporate Directors provides education and advocacy for directors of companies; the association's extensive chapter network allows you to find directors of companies by searching through its chapters (link provided in the References section).
Use resources developed by business research firms such as Hoover's Business Search (link provided in the References section). Hoover's online database allows you to search for detailed information about any company, including its directors. Free registration is required, and searches are free for a limited time; after exhausting the limited-time trial, the ability to search will require a subscription based on how much detail you want.
