board
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board
The governing body of a company, association, or organization, consisting of several people and managing its affairs.
Der Vorstand hat über die neue Strategie des Unternehmens entschieden.
The board decided on the company's new strategy.
'Vorstand' is made up of 'vor' (in front) and 'Stand' (from 'stehen', to stand). So it literally describes the person or group that 'stands at the front' and leads an organization.
Der Vorstand präsentiert die Jahresergebnisse.
The board presents the annual results.
Whether the whole group or an individual person is meant can often be recognized from the verb. Verbs like 'tagen' (to meet) or 'beschließen' (to decide) refer to the group, while 'sprechen' (to speak) or 'zurücktreten' (to resign) can refer to a person.
Der Vorstand tagt jeden Montag.
The board meets every Monday.
When the entire governing body is meant, typical phrases are 'im Vorstand sein/sitzen' (to be/sit on the board), 'in den Vorstand gewählt werden' (to be elected to the board), and 'der Vorstand entscheidet' (the board decides).
Er wurde letztes Jahr in den Vorstand gewählt.
He was elected to the board last year.
When an individual person is meant, their area of responsibility is often mentioned. Typical formulations are 'Vorstand für Finanzen' (board member for finance) or 'technischer Vorstand' (technical board member).
Sie ist der neue Vorstand für Personalentwicklung.
She is the new board member for personnel development.
president
'der Präsident' and 'der Vorstand' both belong to the area of leadership and organization, but they do not mean the same thing. 'der Präsident' is usually a single person with an official title. 'der Vorstand' is often an entire governing body, meaning several people who jointly lead an organization or company. Sometimes 'ein Vorstand' can also mean one individual person from this board. The words are easy to confuse because both have to do with leadership. A practical tip: 'Präsident' is a title for one person, while 'Vorstand' is usually the leadership group.
Der Vorstand trifft sich heute Abend, um über das Budget zu sprechen.
The board is meeting this evening to talk about the budget.
Der Präsident des Clubs entscheidet nicht allein über die neuen Regeln.
The president of the club does not decide on the new rules alone.