Post job

Business unit director vs business leader

The differences between business unit directors and business leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business unit director and a business leader. Additionally, a business unit director has an average salary of $135,050, which is higher than the $90,430 average annual salary of a business leader.

The top three skills for a business unit director include project management, digital marketing and sigma. The most important skills for a business leader are analytics, project management, and customer service.

Business unit director vs business leader overview

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Leader
Yearly salary$135,050$90,430
Hourly rate$64.93$43.48
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs95,707117,296
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a business unit director do?

A business unit director is a person that makes sure that a segment or unit of a company meets its daily goals. The business unit director monitors the production of units in a company and provides support to increase efficiency. The business unit director's responsibility is to determine each member of a business unit's skill development to ensure the increased productive output of the entire company. The business unit director works with the company's administrative and executive departments to ensure all business units work cohesively and well-coordinated.

What does a business leader do?

Business Leaders are considered trailblazers in their field. They are innovative thinkers who often introduce solutions to their industry's challenges. They inspire people pursuing careers in their field and even those outside the industry to strive harder and create their paths to success. Employees often look up to Business Leaders, which is why they must be motivating. They also oversee their business operations and often set long-term targets and strategies to achieve these targets. They think outside the box to set their business apart from their competitors.

Business unit director vs business leader salary

Business unit directors and business leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Leader
Average salary$135,050$90,430
Salary rangeBetween $95,000 And $190,000Between $56,000 And $145,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateAlaskaNew York
Best paying companyLasko ProductsLyft
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalPharmaceutical

Differences between business unit director and business leader education

There are a few differences between a business unit director and a business leader in terms of educational background:

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business unit director vs business leader demographics

Here are the differences between business unit directors' and business leaders' demographics:

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Leader
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 81.8% Female, 18.2%Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between business unit director and business leader duties and responsibilities

Business unit director example responsibilities.

  • Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Increase EBITDA for the division.
  • Obtain first ISO certification for the production lines.
  • Conduct and complete internal reviews of domestic mutual funds and institutional operations, including compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and anti-money laundering requirements.

Business leader example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage SharePoint portal site for SFA department.
  • Lead process and results metric development for all components of Medicaid business system.
  • Develop project plans, project status reports, manage the team and resolve day-to-day issues with emphasis on SDLC.
  • Set up a governance document to be share throughout all of department which outline how SharePoint would be manage.
  • Manage sales and technical group to complete a custom online shopping system and CRM system for digital and print products.
  • Utilize GMP to manage department budgets for capital expenses, spare parts, tools, and yearly contracts with outside vendors.
  • Show more

Business unit director vs business leader skills

Common business unit director skills
  • Project Management, 17%
  • Digital Marketing, 14%
  • Sigma, 13%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Direct Reports, 5%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Common business leader skills
  • Analytics, 9%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Lean Six Sigma, 4%
  • Continuous Improvement, 4%

Browse executive management jobs