Required Officers – California Corporations are Unique
Officers conduct a corporation’s day-to-day business. Among the states, California law is unique in its set of required officers.
California Corporations Code Section 312(a) states that each California corporation must have:
- A chairman of the board or a president or both;
- A secretary; and
- A chief financial officer.
Additional officers are optional.
That Code section also provides that the president is the chief executive officer of the corporation, unless the articles of incorporation or the bylaws state otherwise.
Other states typically take an approach similar to that specified in Delaware General Corporation Law Section 142 (emphasis added):
What Must We Do Regarding Corporate Board Meetings?
The following question (edited for length) is from Founders Space. Q. What’s the minimum two founders must do regarding board meetings for a startup Delaware corporation doing business in California?
A. You should hold an annual stockholder meeting – or, alternatively, prepare a written consent – at which the stockholders elect the board of directors. See Delaware General Corporation Law Sections 211 and following. (more…)
Annual Meetings: The Basics
Sometimes, in an effort to reduce legal fees, clients conduct corporate annual meetings, and prepare minutes, on their own. Regrettably, if they do not know what they are doing, they can make a mess. Here is a quick overview of how to do things right.
Both California (Corporations Code Section 600(b)) and Delaware (General Corporation Law Section 211(b)) require that every corporation hold an annual meeting of its shareholders to elect directors for the coming year. (In the case of a Delaware corporation, however, the directors may be elected by written consent without calling a meeting.) Any other proper business may be transacted at the shareholder meeting.