A director is an officer of the company who is responsible for the management of the company, and who is jointly responsible for the compliance by the company with the Companies Act. Collectively, the directors are known as the board of directors.
A public company must have at least two directors; there is not upper limit for the amount of directors that a public company can have.
New legislation, the Companies Act 2006, makes the following provisions with respect to the directors of a company: -
The duties of a director of a company in the United Kingdom codified in the new legislation are as follows: to act within their powers, to promote the success of the company, to exercise independent judgement, to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence, to avoid conflicts of interest, not to accept benefits from third parties, to declare interest in any proposed transaction or arrangement.
There are few restrictions on who is eligible to be a director of a UK company, a director may be of any nationality, and need not be a resident of the United Kingdom. A director must not, however: -