General director vs managing director

The differences between general directors and managing directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a general director, becoming a managing director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a managing director has an average salary of $129,690, which is higher than the $109,550 average annual salary of a general director.

The top three skills for a general director include digital marketing, SEO and lead generation. The most important skills for a managing director are healthcare, portfolio, and business development.

General director vs managing director overview

	General Director	Managing Director
Yearly salary	$109,550	$129,690
Hourly rate	$52.67	$62.35
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	74,664	81,022
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	48	44
Years of experience	4	6

What does a general director do?

A general director is required to oversee all the business operations of their company, including its financial performance and investments. Part of a general director's job is to supervise executives and delegate work to them. They may also be required to assess problematic situations and developments and resolve them. Moreover, they must ensure that their company is constantly moving towards both its long-term and short-term goals.

What does a managing director do?

A Managing Director oversees workflow and progress, making sure that all operations align within the company or organization's mission or set of goals. They are responsible for crafting strategies, devising effective business plans, and executing guidelines that would nurture a company's growth, and as well as to be the driving force that would direct employees to the company's objectives. Furthermore, a Managing Director must coordinate with those in a higher position, such as the members of the board.

General director vs managing director salary

General directors and managing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Director	Managing Director
Average salary	$109,550	$129,690
Salary range	Between $69,000 And $172,000	Between $72,000 And $233,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Regeneron	Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between general director and managing director education

There are a few differences between a general director and a managing director in terms of educational background:

	General Director	Managing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General director vs managing director demographics

Here are the differences between general directors' and managing directors' demographics:

	General Director	Managing Director
Average age	48	44
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 2.7% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	17%	10%

Differences between general director and managing director duties and responsibilities

General director example responsibilities.

Manage business start-up from formation including development of business and marketing plans, equipment selection/installation, staffing, and product offerings.
Maintain all payroll records for administrative and artistic staff.
Maintain portfolio of donors to increase relationships and donor revenue.
Assemble a team of direct marketing professionals to develop an integrate CRM solution.
Develop core-satellite portfolio compose of 3 fund of funds and 28 direct hedge fund investments.
Assist in the creation of a payroll distribution database used after the elimination of the mainframe.

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Managing director example responsibilities.

Create and manage the social media presence via a festival page on Facebook.
Manage all consulting resources and have overall P/L responsibilities for the Atlanta office.
Manage the lessee and lessor relationships regarding exchange seat leases with major markets, such as NYSE, AMEX, CBOE.
Manage denials and expedite managed care appeals (reimbursement reconsideration).
Manage payroll processing for thousands of industrial temporary workers and bill respective clients.
Manage the Ketera SaaS relationship for IBM with engagement development and profitability responsibilities.

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General director vs managing director skills

Common general director skills

Digital Marketing, 11%
SEO, 10%
Lead Generation, 9%
Marketing Campaigns, 9%
ROI, 7%
HubSpot, 7%

Common managing director skills

Healthcare, 7%
Portfolio, 7%
Business Development, 6%
Oversight, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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