Short answer In many US companies, the CEO is also the Board Chairman. The person who signs on the appointment of board members is the Board chairman. When the roles of CEO and Chairman are combined, it is correct to say the CEO appoints the Board. He who appoints can terminate the board members. However, when the CEO and Chairman roles are not combined, like in most companies in Europe, the CEO may merely influence the termination of the board members but cannot terminate them easily. He has to ‘play politics’ to get the bad apples out. Regardless of the…