This essay sheds light on what is a board of directors, demystifies the role of the board of directors, explicates how to become a board of directors member for a company, and delineates the challenges that the board of directors encounter. The board of directors is a term that refers to the board of a company that is responsible for establishing the company's strategic direction and overseeing the company's management. The board of directors hires a chief executive officer to manage their company's operations. The board of directors also sets forth the compensation for the chief executive officer. The board of directors can determine if they will issue dividend distributions to the shareholders of their company. The board of directors can determine if acquisitions will be initiated for the prospect of their company acquiring more subsidiaries. The board of directors can determine if a merger will be initiated in order for their company to become a merged company. The board of directors can set forth a company's strategic goals. The board of directors can also set forth a company's mission statement and can also establish a company's vision statement. The board of directors is typically comprised of eight to twelve members. The board of directors is comprised of both internal directors and external directors. The board of directors is however primarily comprised of external directors. External directors are not executives of their company nor equity stakeholders of their company even though they serve as members of the board of directors. External directors receive substantial compensation in the form of annual retainer fees for being apart of the board of directors. External directors are able to receive a sizeable annual retainer fees for being apart of the board of directors. It can be a lucrative career to be an external director for a company. A copious amount of external directors receive compensation of significantly over $525,000 per year. In stark contrast to external directors, internal directors do not receive an annual retainer fee for being apart of the board of directors. Internal directors are executives of their companies or equity stakeholder of their company. Internal directors who double as executives also have lucrative careers and receive enormous remuneration for having lucrative executive roles. A chief executive officer typically doubles as an internal director for his company. Some chief executive officers even serve as the board chair for their company's board of directors. The board of directors typically offer colossal compensation for the chief executive officer. The chief executive officer is often expected to increase his company's sales volume, revenue, and profits. The chief executive officer is also often expected to amplify his companies market share. The chief executive officer is also often expected to embrace expansion opportunities that can allow his company to enter into new markets. The board of directors also expects the chief executive officer to manage their companies operations in a manner that is aligned with the strategic direction that they have set forth for their company to follow. The board of directors does not want the strategic direction that their company follows to be unaligned with the strategic direction that they set forth for their company to follow. If a chief executive officer wants to revamp the strategic direction of the company that the board of directors have established then the board of directors members can elect to replace the chief executive officer. The board of director has purview over who will serve as the chief executive officer to lead their company towards new pinnacles of success. The chief executive officer is also often expected to cultivate the brand equity of his company. The cultivation of brand equity typically results in amplifying the value of a company's stock price since a company is perceived as being more valuable when it has robust brand equity than it is perceived as when it has scant brand equity. The chief executive officer is also expected to manage his company's operations. The chief executive officer is also expected to ensure that his company's organizational structure is maintained. The chief executive officer is also expected to develop a corporate strategy for his company and subsequently implement the corporate strategy. The chief executive officer should strive to ensure that his company is being operated in a manner that is conducive to allowing it to achieve its daily objectives and overarching goals.