Chairman - just another dead weight cost?

News that Legal & General, one of Britain's leading life insurance and pension providers, has finally managed to identify its preferred candidate to become chairman leads us to ask why the role of Company Chairman is seen to be a cornerstone of good corporate governance in the UK. While the US system of the all-powerful CEO may well have its defects, the UK system in turn has not lead to much better performance by the listed company sector. Both systems need a major overhaul but one thing is certain: separate chairman do cost money and may create friction as the CEO is constantly second-guessed.