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Comment by freepor | Hacker News Reader

Board members aren't there to invent the next iPhone, they're there to determine when the CEO should be fired, and to hire a new CEO when necessary. Right now, the Microsoft board is particularly pointless since Satya Nadella is one of the highest-performing CEOs in the world and isn't close to retirement.

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The board is meant to represent the investors and act as a check on the power of top executives so they don't go rogue and act contrary to the investors interests. Their job is certainly easier when the CEO is strong and things are going well, but it's still an important role.

Often the CFO (and sometimes other C-level officers) will also report directly to the board, or at least have a direct line of communication that the CEO isn't allowed to interfere with.

That's not how it works. When CEO wants to take on big bet, he will typically need board approval. You can imagine Steve Jobs standing in board room and presenting costs and promise of iPhone. If your board is all classic investor suits then they might not see through things. They can move to prevent CEO from spending big money because that would reflect in reduced earnings because of higher capex. I think this is one reason Google gets away with far larger R&D capex than Microsoft because their board has real tech folks and ex-founders.

If Satya got hit by a bus this weekend that "pointless" board would become very important very quickly.

Don’t be crazy! All the bus drivers are at home with covid-19 symptoms....

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