Corporate director vs operations director

The differences between corporate directors and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a corporate director, becoming an operations director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a corporate director has an average salary of $154,906, which is higher than the $104,050 average annual salary of an operations director.

The top three skills for a corporate director include project management, oversight and customer service. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Corporate director vs operations director overview

	Corporate Director	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$154,906	$104,050
Hourly rate	$74.47	$50.02
Growth rate	5%	6%
Number of jobs	66,254	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	8	6

What does a corporate director do?

A corporate director is a business individual who is an elected or appointed member of the board of directors that directs or manages a corporation. Corporate directors are responsible for making decisions regarding the supervision of the entire enterprise as well as their products and services. They are in control of others' property and are liable to both their individual and joint actions. Corporate directors are also bound by the duty to act within the scope of their authority and must exercise due care in the performance of their corporate tasks.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Corporate director vs operations director salary

Corporate directors and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Corporate Director	Operations Director
Average salary	$154,906	$104,050
Salary range	Between $102,000 And $233,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Beaverton, OR	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	AbbVie	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between corporate director and operations director education

There are a few differences between a corporate director and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	Corporate Director	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Corporate director vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between corporate directors' and operations directors' demographics:

	Corporate Director	Operations Director
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	10%

Differences between corporate director and operations director duties and responsibilities

Corporate director example responsibilities.

Lead corporate governance and compliance functions and manage securities law and relate issues for ESOP (employee-own) enterprise.
Manage RFP for selection of new benefit consultants.
Manage the RFP development and review process through to vendor selection and contract finalization.
Manage accounting staff to provide accurate financial close in compliance with all internal control and SOX requirements.
Manage EHS compliance for a large-scale construction company specializing in smokestack construction.
Manage activities of divisional quality representatives for compliance to ISO 9001 and quality initiatives.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Corporate director vs operations director skills

Common corporate director skills

Project Management, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Financial Statements, 5%
Patients, 5%
Business Development, 4%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Corporate Director
Corporate Director vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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