> I'd bet in most companies the CEO is basically just a buffer between the board and the rest of the company Are you thinking of companies in general, or of re

> I'd bet in most companies the CEO is basically just a buffer between the board and the rest of the company Are you thinking of companies in general, or of reasonably prominent/stable publicly traded companies? The CEOs at the startups I've worked at did a heck of a lot more than that -- fundraising, strategy, resolving personnel issues, talking to clients, etc.; I'm thinking of a small company (10-20 employees) and a mid-sized one (400-500).