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{{more citations needed|date=December 2021}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2021}}


A '''vice president''', also '''director''' in ], is an ] in ] or ] who is below the ] (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on the executive branch of the government, university or company. The name comes from the ] term '']'' meaning "in place of" and typically serves as '']'' (]: ’for the time being’) to the president.<ref>, etymologyonlive.com</ref> In some countries, the vice president is called the ''deputy president''. In everyday speech, the abbreviation ''VP'' is used. A '''vice president''' or '''vice-president''', also '''director''' in ], is an ] in ] or ] who is below the ] (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on the executive branch of the government, university or company. The name comes from the ] term '']'' meaning "in place of" and typically serves as '']'' (]: ’for the time being’) to the president.<ref>, etymoonline.com</ref> In some countries, the vice president is called the ''deputy president''. In everyday speech, the abbreviation ''VP'' is used.


==In government== ==In government==
{{See also|List of current vice presidents}} {{See also|List of current vice presidents}}
] and his Chinese counterpart ] in 2011]]

] with former Latvian president ] in 2017]]
In ], a vice president is a person whose primary responsibility is to act in place of the ] on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. Vice presidents are either elected jointly with the president as their ], or more rarely, appointed independently after the president's election. In ], a vice president is a person whose primary responsibility is to act in place of the ] on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. Vice presidents are either elected jointly with the president as their ], or more rarely, appointed independently after the president's election.


Most governments with vice presidents have one person in this role at any time, although in some countries there are two or more vice presidents–an extreme case being Iran's ]. If the president is not present, dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president will generally serve as president. In many ]s, the vice president does not wield much day-to-day political power, but is still considered an important member of the ]. A few vice presidents in the Americas also hold the position of ]; this is the case, for example, in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay. The vice president sometimes assumes some of the ceremonial duties of the president, such as attending diplomatic functions and events that the actual president may be too busy to attend; the ], for example, often attends funerals of world leaders on behalf of the ]. In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems, a vice president may coexist with a prime minister, as is ] and ], but the presence of both offices concurrently is rare. Most governments with vice presidents have one person in this role at any time, although in some countries there are two or more vice presidents–an extreme case being Iran's ]. If the president is not present, dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president will generally serve as president. In many ]s, vice presidents may not wield much day-to-day political power, but are still considered important members of the ], while other vice presidents might not have any purpose beyond acting in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. A few vice presidents in the Americas also hold the position of ]; this is the case, for example, in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay. The vice president sometimes assumes some of the ceremonial duties of the president, such as attending diplomatic functions and events that the actual president may be too busy to attend; the ], for example, often attends funerals of world leaders on behalf of the ]. A vice president, in some cases, may also be appointed by the president as the head of a ministry in the cabinet or to lead certain executive initiatives designated by the president. In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems, a vice president may coexist with a prime minister, as is ] and ], but the presence of both offices concurrently is rare.
{{anchor|Vice presidents in business}} {{anchor|Vice presidents in business}}


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When there are typically several vice presidents in a company, these individuals are sometimes differentiated with titles denoting higher positions such as executive vice president or senior vice president, with the remaining management team holding the title vice president. The title of assistant vice president or associate vice president is used in large organizations below vice president and there can be a very convoluted list of other types of VPs as seen in the next section. When there are typically several vice presidents in a company, these individuals are sometimes differentiated with titles denoting higher positions such as executive vice president or senior vice president, with the remaining management team holding the title vice president. The title of assistant vice president or associate vice president is used in large organizations below vice president and there can be a very convoluted list of other types of VPs as seen in the next section.


As many of these VPs have minimal employees reporting to them, their necessity has been questioned, with for example '']'' magazine arguing to flatten the corporate hierarchy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/the-world-isnt-flat-but-companies-should-be.html|title=3 Reasons to Eliminate Hierarchy in Your Company|date=21 November 2013|website=Inc.com|access-date=30 May 2018}}</ref> Similarly, as universities have adopted a corporate structure<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Slow-Death-of-the/228991|title=The Slow Death of the University|date=6 April 2015|journal=The Chronicle of Higher Education|access-date=30 May 2018}}</ref> there is concern over administrative bloat<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/research-scores-of-us-top-brass-fail-to-shine|title=Research scores of US top brass fail to shine|date=20 July 2016|website=Timeshighereducation.com |access-date=30 May 2018}}</ref> and over-paying VPs.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Are you overpaying your academic executive team? A method for detecting unmerited academic executive compensation|journal=Tertiary Education and Management|volume=22|issue=3|pages=189–201|date=2016|doi=10.1080/13583883.2016.1181198|last1 = Pearce|first1 = Joshua|s2cid=148102314 }}</ref> Benjamin Ginsberg, a political scientist and professor, has claimed the proliferation of VPs and other administrators is destroying universities.<ref>]. ''The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters'' (2011). Oxford University Press.</ref> "Corporate vice president" is an older term that usually denotes a vice president that is named as a corporate officer by the board of directors. Not all vice presidents in a company in the modern business environment are named as an official corporate officer.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} As many of these VPs have minimal employees reporting to them, their necessity has been questioned, with for example '']'' magazine arguing to flatten the corporate hierarchy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/the-world-isnt-flat-but-companies-should-be.html|title=3 Reasons to Eliminate Hierarchy in Your Company|date=21 November 2013|website=Inc.com|access-date=30 May 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124023117/https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/the-world-isnt-flat-but-companies-should-be.html |archivedate=2013-11-24}}</ref> Similarly, as universities have adopted a corporate structure<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Slow-Death-of-the/228991|title=The Slow Death of the University|date=6 April 2015|journal=The Chronicle of Higher Education|access-date=30 May 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407144008/http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Slow-Death-of-the/228991 |archivedate=2015-04-07}}</ref> there is concern over administrative bloat<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/research-scores-of-us-top-brass-fail-to-shine|title=Research scores of US top brass fail to shine|date=20 July 2016|website=Timeshighereducation.com |access-date=30 May 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916225151/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/research-scores-of-us-top-brass-fail-to-shine |archivedate=2017-09-16}}</ref> and over-paying VPs.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Are you overpaying your academic executive team? A method for detecting unmerited academic executive compensation|journal=Tertiary Education and Management|volume=22|issue=3|pages=189–201|date=2016|doi=10.1080/13583883.2016.1181198|last1 = Pearce|first1 = Joshua|s2cid=148102314 }}</ref> Benjamin Ginsberg, a political scientist and professor, has claimed the proliferation of VPs and other administrators is destroying universities.<ref>]. ''The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters'' (2011). Oxford University Press.</ref> "Corporate vice president" is an older term that usually denotes a vice president that is named as a corporate officer by the board of directors. Not all vice presidents in a company in the modern business environment are named as an official corporate officer.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}


===Hierarchy of vice presidents=== ===Hierarchy of vice presidents===
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| 1 | 1
| President (second to chief executive officer) | President (second to chief executive officer)
| Managing director (second to CEO or CxO) | Managing director (second to CEO)
| President | President
| Managing director (third to chairman, equal or sometimes second to CEO) | Managing director (third to chairman, equal or sometimes second to CEO)
Line 84: Line 85:
|- |-
| 4 | 4
| Executive VP, group VP | Executive VP or group VP
| Group director
| EVP
| EVP | EVP
| EVP or director | EVP or director
Line 110: Line 111:
| Vice president | Vice president
| Corporate VP | Corporate VP
|-

|} |}


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===In financial services companies=== ===In financial services companies===
In financial companies, a "vice president" is usually a seniority rank that denotes higher responsibility, though such may not be leadership. The title does not denote a leadership position within the company, but often a role relatively junior to the executive board. Financial services companies have multiple vice presidents,<ref>, on the website LinkedIn, the title of vice-president grew 426% faster than website membership growth, from 2005 to 2009</ref> possibly because the title is a form of ] when an employee can not be moved higher in the organization but still deserves recognition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acc.com/legalresources/quickcounsel/lpjtii.cfm|title=The Legal Pitfalls of Job Title Inflation (Part I): Apparent Authority and Employee Misclassification|publisher=Association of Corporate Counsel|year=2013}}</ref> In most cases, the title merely implies that someone is in a medium-seniority individual contributor role. Larger financial institutions have thousands of employees with the title "Vice President".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304692804577281252012689294| title = Goldman Plays Damage Control - WSJ}} </ref> In financial companies, a "vice president" is usually a seniority rank that denotes higher responsibility, though such may not be leadership. The title does not denote a leadership position within the company, but often a role relatively junior to the executive board. Financial services companies have multiple vice presidents,<ref name="economist">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/16423358 |title=Too many chiefs |work=] |date=2010-06-24 |accessdate=2024-10-05 |quote=The number of members of LinkedIn, a professional network, with the title vice-president grew 426% faster than the membership of the site as a whole in 2005-09. |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920234223/https://www.economist.com/business/2010/06/24/too-many-chiefs |archivedate=2019-09-20}}</ref> possibly because the title is a form of ] when an employee can not be moved higher in the organization but still deserves recognition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acc.com/legalresources/quickcounsel/lpjtii.cfm|title=The Legal Pitfalls of Job Title Inflation (Part I): Apparent Authority and Employee Misclassification|publisher=Association of Corporate Counsel|year=2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103185921/http://www.acc.com/legalresources/quickcounsel/lpjtii.cfm |archivedate=2014-01-03}}</ref> In most cases, the title merely implies that someone is in a medium-seniority individual contributor role. Larger financial institutions have thousands of employees with the title "vice president".<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304692804577281252012689294| title = Goldman Plays Damage Control |work=] |first1=Liz |last1=Rappaport |first2=David |last2=Enrich |date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311012855/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304692804577281252012689294 |archive-date=2015-03-11}} </ref>


==In other organizations== ==In other organizations==
In other organizations (''e.g.'', ]s, societies, clubs) one or multiple vice presidents are elected by the members of the organization. When multiple vice presidents are elected, the positions are usually numbered to prevent confusion as to who may preside or succeed to the office of president upon vacancy of that office (for example: first vice president, second vice president, and so on).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised|last = Robert|first = Henry M.|publisher = Da Capo Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-306-82020-5|location = Philadelphia, PA|pages = 457–458|edition = 11th|display-authors=etal|title-link = Robert's Rules of Order}}</ref> In some cases vice presidents are given titles due to their specific responsibilities, for example: vice president of operations, finance, etc.<ref name=":0" /> In some associations the first vice president can be interchangeable with executive vice president and the remaining vice presidents are ranked in order of their seniority. Sometimes a vice president is also called '''presidium member''', especially when there are more than person holding the post. In other organizations (''e.g.'', ]s, societies, clubs) one or multiple vice presidents are elected by the members of the organization. When multiple vice presidents are elected, the positions are usually numbered to prevent confusion as to who may preside or succeed to the office of president upon vacancy of that office (for example: first vice president, second vice president, and so on).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised|last = Robert|first = Henry M.|publisher = Da Capo Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-306-82020-5|location = Philadelphia, PA|pages = 457–458|edition = 11th|display-authors=etal|title-link = Robert's Rules of Order}}</ref> In some cases vice presidents are given titles due to their specific responsibilities, for example: vice president of operations, finance, etc.<ref name=":0" /> In some associations the first vice president can be interchangeable with executive vice president and the remaining vice presidents are ranked in order of their seniority. Sometimes a vice president is also called ''presidium member'', especially when there are more than person holding the post.


The primary responsibility of the vice president of a club or organization is to be prepared to assume the powers and duties of the office of the president in the case of a vacancy in that office.<ref name=":0" /> If the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president (or in clubs with multiple vice presidents, the VP that occupies the highest-ranking office), will assume the office of president, with the lower vice presidents to fill in the remaining vice presidencies, leaving the lowest vice presidency to be filled by either election or appointment.<ref name=":0" /> If the bylaws of a club specifically provide of the officer title of ], that officer would assume the powers and duties of the president upon vacancy of that office only if specified in the bylaws.<ref name=":0" /> The primary responsibility of the vice president of a club or organization is to be prepared to assume the powers and duties of the office of the president in the case of a vacancy in that office.<ref name=":0" /> If the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president (or in clubs with multiple vice presidents, the VP that occupies the highest-ranking office), will assume the office of president, with the lower vice presidents to fill in the remaining vice presidencies, leaving the lowest vice presidency to be filled by either election or appointment.<ref name=":0" /> If the bylaws of a club specifically provide of the officer title of ], that officer would assume the powers and duties of the president upon vacancy of that office only if specified in the bylaws.<ref name=":0" />

Latest revision as of 04:07, 5 October 2024

Officer in government or business For the Canadian mountain, see The Vice President (mountain). "VP" redirects here. For other uses, see VP (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Vice president" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on the executive branch of the government, university or company. The name comes from the Latin term vice meaning "in place of" and typically serves as pro tempore (Latin: ’for the time being’) to the president. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president. In everyday speech, the abbreviation VP is used.

In government

See also: List of current vice presidents
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in 2011
Azerbaijan's vice president Mehriban Aliyeva with former Latvian president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga in 2017

In government, a vice president is a person whose primary responsibility is to act in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. Vice presidents are either elected jointly with the president as their running mate, or more rarely, appointed independently after the president's election.

Most governments with vice presidents have one person in this role at any time, although in some countries there are two or more vice presidents–an extreme case being Iran's 12 vice presidents. If the president is not present, dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president will generally serve as president. In many presidential systems, vice presidents may not wield much day-to-day political power, but are still considered important members of the cabinet, while other vice presidents might not have any purpose beyond acting in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. A few vice presidents in the Americas also hold the position of president of the senate; this is the case, for example, in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay. The vice president sometimes assumes some of the ceremonial duties of the president, such as attending diplomatic functions and events that the actual president may be too busy to attend; the Vice President of the United States, for example, often attends funerals of world leaders on behalf of the president. A vice president, in some cases, may also be appointed by the president as the head of a ministry in the cabinet or to lead certain executive initiatives designated by the president. In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems, a vice president may coexist with a prime minister, as is the case in India and Namibia, but the presence of both offices concurrently is rare.

In business

Further information: Director (business)

In business, "vice president" refers to hierarchical position that ranges from extremely senior positions directly reporting to C-level executives (in non-financial companies), to junior non-management positions with four to 10 years of experience (in financial companies).

In non-financial businesses, vice presidents often report directly to the president or CEO of the company and are members of the executive management team. Some corporations that use this term may have individuals with the title of vice president responsible for specific business divisions (e.g., vice president for legal, vice president for sales and marketing, vice president for finance, and vice president for human resources).

When there are typically several vice presidents in a company, these individuals are sometimes differentiated with titles denoting higher positions such as executive vice president or senior vice president, with the remaining management team holding the title vice president. The title of assistant vice president or associate vice president is used in large organizations below vice president and there can be a very convoluted list of other types of VPs as seen in the next section.

As many of these VPs have minimal employees reporting to them, their necessity has been questioned, with for example Inc. magazine arguing to flatten the corporate hierarchy. Similarly, as universities have adopted a corporate structure there is concern over administrative bloat and over-paying VPs. Benjamin Ginsberg, a political scientist and professor, has claimed the proliferation of VPs and other administrators is destroying universities. "Corporate vice president" is an older term that usually denotes a vice president that is named as a corporate officer by the board of directors. Not all vice presidents in a company in the modern business environment are named as an official corporate officer.

Hierarchy of vice presidents

Depending on the specific organization, the following may be an example of the hierarchy of the vice presidents. The following list explains where the VP sits in an organization:

  • President
  • Joint president
  • Deputy president
  • First executive vice president (FEVP)
  • Senior executive vice president (SEVP)
  • Executive vice president (EVP)
  • Senior vice president (SVP)
  • Group vice president (GVP)
  • Vice president (VP)
  • Additional vice president (Addl. VP)
  • Joint vice president (Jt. VP)
  • Deputy vice president (Deputy VP)
  • Associate vice president (Asso. VP)
  • Assistant vice president (Asst. VP)
  • Chief general manager (CGM)
  • Senior general manager (SGM)
  • General manager (GM)
  • Deputy general manager (DGM)
  • Assistant general manager (AGM)
  • Chief manager (CM)
  • Senior manager (SM)
  • Manager (M)
  • Deputy manager (DM)
  • Assistant manager (AM)
Rank U.S. executive officer UK executive officer Investment bank executive officer India senior management hierarchy Asia Pacific executive officer
1 President (second to chief executive officer) Managing director (second to CEO) President Managing director (third to chairman, equal or sometimes second to CEO) President
2 Deputy president Deputy managing director Deputy president Deputy managing director or group executive or group head Deputy president
3 First executive VP or senior EVP Executive director SEVP Joint president or SEVP Deputy president
4 Executive VP or group VP Group director EVP EVP or director EVP
5 Senior VP Senior director Senior managing director Senior VP Senior VP
6 Corporate VP Director Managing director Group VP Corporate VP
7 Vice president Deputy director Executive director Vice president Corporate VP

This comparison is not strictly correct, as director is a legal term, meaning someone registered with the relevant country's company registrar (or simply named in the legal documents, for countries not having company registration) as having managerial control of the company, and having legal responsibility for its operation, whilst a vice president does not. In either case the responsibilities may be overall to the company, a region (US, EMEA, CEE...), business unit or function such as sales, marketing, IT etc.

In financial services companies

In financial companies, a "vice president" is usually a seniority rank that denotes higher responsibility, though such may not be leadership. The title does not denote a leadership position within the company, but often a role relatively junior to the executive board. Financial services companies have multiple vice presidents, possibly because the title is a form of delayering when an employee can not be moved higher in the organization but still deserves recognition. In most cases, the title merely implies that someone is in a medium-seniority individual contributor role. Larger financial institutions have thousands of employees with the title "vice president".

In other organizations

In other organizations (e.g., trade unions, societies, clubs) one or multiple vice presidents are elected by the members of the organization. When multiple vice presidents are elected, the positions are usually numbered to prevent confusion as to who may preside or succeed to the office of president upon vacancy of that office (for example: first vice president, second vice president, and so on). In some cases vice presidents are given titles due to their specific responsibilities, for example: vice president of operations, finance, etc. In some associations the first vice president can be interchangeable with executive vice president and the remaining vice presidents are ranked in order of their seniority. Sometimes a vice president is also called presidium member, especially when there are more than person holding the post.

The primary responsibility of the vice president of a club or organization is to be prepared to assume the powers and duties of the office of the president in the case of a vacancy in that office. If the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president (or in clubs with multiple vice presidents, the VP that occupies the highest-ranking office), will assume the office of president, with the lower vice presidents to fill in the remaining vice presidencies, leaving the lowest vice presidency to be filled by either election or appointment. If the bylaws of a club specifically provide of the officer title of president-elect, that officer would assume the powers and duties of the president upon vacancy of that office only if specified in the bylaws.

References

  1. "vice", etymoonline.com
  2. "3 Reasons to Eliminate Hierarchy in Your Company". Inc.com. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-24. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  3. "The Slow Death of the University". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 6 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-07. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  4. "Research scores of US top brass fail to shine". Timeshighereducation.com. 20 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-09-16. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  5. Pearce, Joshua (2016). "Are you overpaying your academic executive team? A method for detecting unmerited academic executive compensation". Tertiary Education and Management. 22 (3): 189–201. doi:10.1080/13583883.2016.1181198. S2CID 148102314.
  6. Benjamin Ginsberg. The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters (2011). Oxford University Press.
  7. "Too many chiefs". The Economist. 2010-06-24. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2024-10-05. The number of members of LinkedIn, a professional network, with the title vice-president grew 426% faster than the membership of the site as a whole in 2005-09.
  8. "The Legal Pitfalls of Job Title Inflation (Part I): Apparent Authority and Employee Misclassification". Association of Corporate Counsel. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03.
  9. Rappaport, Liz; Enrich, David (March 14, 2012). "Goldman Plays Damage Control". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2015-03-11.
  10. ^ Robert, Henry M.; et al. (2011). Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. pp. 457–458. ISBN 978-0-306-82020-5.

Further reading

  • National Association of Parliamentarians® (1993). Spotlight on You the Vice-President or President-Elect. Independence, MO: National Association of Parliamentarians®. ISBN 978-1-884048-203.

External links

Corporate titles
Chief officers
Senior executives
Mid-level executives
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