The individuals whose collective legal responsibility it is to manage the business and operations of a corporation. As a practical matter, most boards of directors provide oversight authority over management who run the day-to-day operations of a company. The certificate of incorporation and bylaws establish the number of directors for each company, either a fixed number (usually an odd number so that voting deadlocks don't occur) or a range (e.g., five to nine, as determined by the stockholders).