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.
Managing director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real managing director resumes:
- 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.
- Engage in underwriting, modeling and due diligence for prospective healthcare real estate acquisitions, including profitability analysis and market research.
- Develop and execute international business development, new market and product development strategy for a technology start-up company.
- Develop the private client group, which targets the brokerage community.
- Integrate an off the shelf e-commerce package into a custom develop website.
- Perform internal quality system audits to measure compliance with ISO and QSR requirements.
- Implement a new ERP software program to bring MRP capability to the operation.
- Review all documents for adherence to Medicaid requirements, department policies, and legislative intent.
- Develop sales and operations in the UK, and become Infonet's the fastest growing subsidiary.
- Increase revenue sources by gaining approval from Medicaid waiver programs and state and private funding sources.
Managing director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Managing Directors are proficient in Healthcare, Portfolio, and Business Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Management skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Managing Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 7%
United HealthCare purchased the merged group health departments of MetLife and Travelers.
- Portfolio, 7%
Led asset management function including budget development and analysis of and strategic planning for economic performance of real estate asset portfolio.
- Business Development, 6%
Developed an international business development plan for a European company providing regulatory consulting services in the personal care and cosmetics sectors.
- Oversight, 6%
Managed and cultivated external vendor partner relationships including contracting, operational governance, service level agreement management oversight and issue resolution.
- Project Management, 5%
Project Management - Provide nation-wide security for Northwest Airlines and executive protection for 75 executives during a contentious national labor dispute.
- Customer Service, 5%
Prepared customer and customer service groups with usage training and Presented application adoption and performance in context of previous application performance.
"healthcare," "portfolio," and "business development" are among the most common skills that managing directors use at work. You can find even more managing director responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. The most essential soft skill for a managing director to carry out their responsibilities is leadership skills. This skill is important for the role because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." Additionally, a managing director resume shows how their duties depend on leadership skills: "provide strategic direction and leadership in designing and implementing an effective control infrastructure across oreo asset management operations. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for managing directors to perform their duties. For an example of how managing director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a managing director: "worked on two asset management contracts with resolution trust corporation with two separate companies. ".
Time-management skills. For certain managing director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a managing director rely on this skill, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what managing directors do: "initiated correspondence; obtained required documentation, maintained logs and deadlines, due diligence & follow up. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for managing director responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of managing directors all the time, as "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." An excerpt from a real managing director resume shows how this skill is central to what a managing director does: "major clients included organizations from advertising/marketing; associations; automotive, financial services, packaged goods, and telecommunications. "
The three companies that hire the most managing directors are:
- CBRE Group999 managing directors jobs
- KPMG LLP182 managing directors jobs
- BMO Capital Markets109 managing directors jobs
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Compare different managing directors
Managing director vs. Division vice president
Division Vice Presidents are company executives that oversee a particular department or division. They are often employed in companies with a varied product line or wide geographical reach, thus needing divisions to streamline processes. Division Vice Presidents should have a solid background in the particular division that they are handling. They ensure that their division's performance is at par or would even exceed company targets and expectations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, managing director responsibilities require skills like "portfolio," "customer service," "financial services," and "account management." Meanwhile a typical division vice president has skills in areas such as "shared services," "rehabilitation," "sales strategies," and "securities." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Division vice presidents earn the highest salaries when working in the media industry, with an average yearly salary of $170,691. On the other hand, managing directors are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $177,065.division vice presidents tend to reach lower levels of education than managing directors. In fact, division vice presidents are 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Managing director vs. Director of operations and finance
A director of operations and finance is in charge of overseeing and spearheading business and financial operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the best practices to optimize operations, coordinating with different departments to gather data, conducting research and analysis to identify new business and investment opportunities, and monitoring the progress of various projects and programs. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, managing director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "portfolio," "customer service," and "financial services." Meanwhile, a director of operations and finance has duties that require skills in areas such as "financial operations," "payroll," "cpa," and "financial reports." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Directors of operations and finance may earn a lower salary than managing directors, but directors of operations and finance earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $126,734. On the other hand, managing directors receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $177,065.In general, directors of operations and finance achieve similar levels of education than managing directors. They're 1.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Managing director vs. Director of business operations
The position of a director of business operations involves the direction and coordination of an organization. It is the main responsibility of the directors of operations to oversee the profitability and overall growth of their organization. Their job includes staff management, department supervision, goods production, and expense control. They handle the company's resources, create and implement an operational plan, and make sure that the procedures are executed properly. The skills necessary for this position include leadership skills, management skills, customer service, and communication skills.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from managing director resumes include skills like "healthcare," "portfolio," "financial services," and "client relationships," whereas a director of business operations is more likely to list skills in "patients," "kpis," "continuous improvement," and "operational efficiency. "
Directors of business operations earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $127,932. Managing directors earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $177,065.directors of business operations typically earn similar educational levels compared to managing directors. Specifically, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Managing director vs. Director of managed services
A director of managed services is in charge of overseeing the business processes in an organization, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around setting goals and objectives, managing the workforce, spearheading projects and campaigns, devising strategies to optimize services, and coordinating with analysts to identify new business opportunities. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach new heights, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of managing director
Updated January 8, 2025
