• the advisory chairman commands a significant degree of influence on the corporate strategy of the firm.business colleagues image by Vladimir Melnik from Fotolia.com
  
  A board of directors is appointed by the shareholders of a corporation to represent its interest and to oversee higher management of it, including the CEO. An advisory chairman is a position of a member of the board of directors who assists and advices the chairman on a wide range of issues. It is a very responsible job and requires good knowledge of the industry, extensive management experience, integrity and candor.
  
  

Assist the Chairman

• First and foremost, the advisory chairman must provide assistance and advice to the chairman of the board of directors, also known as a president. The advice he gives encompasses a large range of issues, including corporate governance, business strategy, major decisions (mergers and acquisitions, entering new markets), and evaluation of the work of the executive team (CEO).
  
  

Specialize in Certain Issues

• It is not infrequent that an advisory chairmen specializes in one or several key issues facing an organization, for example, social and corporate responsibility (SCR), the environment, or corporate governance. In this case, the advisory chairman pays particular attention to the activities which he has been assigned to, developing extensive expertise and advising the board of directors on the issues facing the organization with respect to those activities.
  
  

Represent the Shareholders

• Like all other members of the board of directors, the advisory chairman must represent the interests of the shareholders in good faith and to the best of his abilities. He also has to be free from any possible conflicts of interest between his other business activities and his role as the member of the board of directors. For example, he cannot be involved in managing companies that are direct competitors to the corporation that he serves as an advisory chairman.